The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said last week (Aug 5) there were "early signs" that the monkeypox outbreak was plateauing across the country and that
its expansion had slowed.
"While the most recent data suggests the growth of the outbreak has slowed, we cannot be complacent," Dr Meera Chand, director of clinical and emerging infections
at UKHSA, said.
There were 2,859 confirmed and highly probable cases of monkeypox in the UK as of Aug. 4, with nearly 99 per cent of the cases among men, the country's health
authority said in a statement.
The recent analysis by the UKHSA showed that "monkeypox continues to be transmitted primarily in interconnected sexual networks of gay, bisexual, or other men who
have sex with men", it added.
British authorities in June were recommending gay and bisexual men at higher risk of exposure to monkeypox be offered a vaccine, as the outbreak of the viral disease
had gathered pace, mostly in Europe.