Since May 6, the United Kingdom has recorded 1,735 cases of monkeypox, 1,660 of them in England alone. The explosion in cases stands in sharp contrast to the previous 4 years, when only 7 cases were recorded, and there was no documented community transmission.
England: 75% of cases in London
New epidemiologic data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows the outbreak is still mainly among men who have sex with men (MSM), MSM who have recently traveled to a country experiencing an outbreak, and urban residents.
"A high proportion of England cases were known to be London residents (75%; 1,229 of 1,644 with reported home addresses). For confirmed cases in the United Kingdom, where sex information was available, 1,633 (99.4%) confirmed cases were male, with 10 confirmed female cases. The median age of confirmed cases was 36 years (interquartile range, 31 to 43)," the UKHSA said in a new report.
At the current rate, UK cases are doubling every 15 days, and many British experts are warning that early missteps will cause problems and an extended outbreak.
So far, 30,000 monkeypox vaccines have been acquired, but not distributed, by UK authorities.
In other global developments, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, announced today that the National Institute for Biomedical Research in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the National Institute of Health and Medical Research, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have convened researchers and experts in trials worldwide to develop consensus on global protocols for the evaluation of treatments for monkeypox.
Russia, New Mexico report first cases
Russia has reported its first case of monkeypox, which involves a young man who had traveled to Europe.
In US developments, New Mexico has reported its first probable case, a person who had recently traveled out of state.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's total is now at 866 cases from 41 jurisdictions, reflecting an increase of 99 cases since yesterday.
There are now 10,020 cases confirmed worldwide, with Spain having the highest total, at 2,034.
