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The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said that monkeypox is to be listed as a notifiable disease in law from Wednesday (June 8). The new legislation means all doctors in England are required to notify their local council or local Health Protection Team (HPT) if they suspect a patient has monkeypox. Laboratories must also notify the UKHSA if the monkeypox virus is identified in a laboratory sample. Wendi Shepherd, monkeypox incident director at UKHSA, said: "Rapid diagnosis and reporting is the key to interrupting transmission and containing any further spread of monkeypox. This new legislation will support us and our health partners to swiftly identify, treat and control the disease. "It also supports us with the swift collection and analysis of data which enables us to detect possible outbreaks of the disease and trace close contacts rapidly, whilst offering vaccinations where appropriate to limit onward transmission."

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has advised self-isolation for people diagnosed with monkeypox to reduce the risk of spreading the infection. Household members are at the highest risk of becoming infected from a case within their house. The new guidance advises people with monkeypox infection to take steps to try and limit transmission within the household. "Monkeypox infection mainly spreads between people through direct, skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact. Infection can also be spread via contaminated objects such as linen and soft furnishings," said UKHSA. The guidance advises that, where possible, cases are encouraged to sleep and eat in a separate room and use a separate bathroom to their household if possible. Good hygiene measures, to follow at all times, have also been set out. It suggests, "Where the use of a separate room isn't possible, cases should avoid physical contact and keep at least three steps (one metre) away from all household members. It is particularly important that they avoid close contact with young children, pregnant women and immunosuppressed people as they may be at higher risk of serious illness."

A total of 37 more cases of monkeypox have been detected in England and Scotland, public health officials said on Monday, taking the total to 57. Thirty-six confirmed cases were found in England, and one north of the border, the UK Health Security Agency and Public Health Scotland said. The UKHSA said it was now advising high-risk contact cases of confirmed cases who have not tested positive or developed symptoms to isolate for up to 21 days. It has also bought supplies of smallpox vaccine, which is being offered to close contacts to reduce the risk of symptomatic infection and severe illness. Chief medical adviser Susan Hopkins said contact tracing was helping to limit the close-contact spread of the virus, which causes a chickenpox-like rash. "Because the virus spreads through close contact, we are urging everyone to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact a sexual health service if they have any symptoms," she added in a statement.

Monkeypox appears to be spreading from person to person in England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Wednesday (June 1). The usually mild viral disease, which is endemic in west and central Africa, is understood to spread through close contact. Until early May, cases rarely cropped up outside Africa and were typically linked to travel to there. "The current outbreak is the first time that the virus has been passed from person to person in England where travel links to an endemic country have not been identified," the agency said. According to the UKHSA, the majority of cases in the United Kingdom - 132 - are in London, while 111 cases are known to be in gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men. Only two cases are in women. Recent foreign travel to a number of different countries in Europe within 21 days of symptom onset has been reported by 34 confirmed cases, or about 18 per cent of the 190 cases of the disease that have been confirmed by the United Kingdom as of May 31.

Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam has announced that he will step down as deputy chief medical officer (DCMO) for England at the end of March to take up a new role at the University of Nottingham. He joined Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on secondment from the university in 2017, and will soon return to be the pro-vice-chancellor for Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Professor Van-Tam said: "My time as DCMO have been the most challenging of my professional career, especially the Covid response. We all wish Covid had never happened. Notwithstanding, it has been the greatest privilege of my professional career to have served the people of the UK during this time. "I want to pay tribute to Professor Chris Whitty, the CMO team, my fellow scientists, public health professionals and clinicians whose support, wisdom and energy has been inspiring. "I will continue to work until the end of March and look forward to the next challenge." As the DCMO for Health Protection, he has played key roles in various incidents, including domestic outbreaks of MERS and monkeypox, 2017 to 2018 influenza season and during the Covid-19 pandemic.