Additional case of monkeypox confirmed in Scotland

An additional case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Scotland. This latest case brings the total number of confirmed cases reported since 23 May to four.

The individuals are receiving care and treatment appropriate to their condition in line with nationally agreed protocols and guidance. Close contacts of the cases are being identified and provided with health information, advice and, where appropriate, vaccine.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) has been working closely with NHS Boards and other partners to raise awareness of the disease and ensure services are ready to respond.  Public Health Scotland (PHS) continues to work with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Public Health Wales and Northern Ireland HSC Health Protection Agency to monitor and respond to potential and confirmed cases of monkeypox in the UK.

Monkeypox is a viral infection usually found in West and Central Africa. The West African strain that has been recently detected in the UK is generally a mild self-limiting illness, spread by very close contact with someone already infected and with symptoms of monkeypox. Most people recover within a few weeks.

Dr Nick Phin, Director of Public Health Science and Medical Director at PHS, explains:

“Anyone with an unusual blister-like rash or small number of blister-like sores on any part of their body, including their genital area, should avoid close contact with others and seek medical advice if they have any concerns.

“PHS continues to work with NHS Boards and wider partners in Scotland and the UK to investigate the source of these infections.

“We have well established and robust infection control procedures for dealing with such cases of infectious disease and these are being strictly followed and the overall risk to the general public is low”.

Symptoms

Initial symptoms of monkey pox include fever or high temperature, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.

A blister-like rash or small number of blister-like sores can develop usually 1 to 5 days after other symptoms, often beginning on the face or genital area, and may spread to other parts of the body.

The rash changes and goes through different stages, before finally forming a scab, which typically falls off over the course of a couple of weeks. Individuals are infectious from the point symptoms start until all the scabs fall off. During this time close contact with others must be avoided.

Further information is available on NHS Inform (external website).

The latest case numbers of monkeypox in Scotland can be found on the PHS monkeypox web page.