Rare monkeypox disease traced to Nigeria

A rare case of monkeypox, with links to Nigeria, has been confirmed in England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced on Saturday.

The agency emphasized that monkeypox is a rare viral infection that doesn’t spread easily between people. For most, it is a mild disease that disappears within a few weeks but some can develop severe illness.

The patient who has been diagnosed with monkeypox had recently arrived in the UK from Nigeria, and is being treated at the infectious disease isolation unit of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital in Central London.

“As a precautionary measure, UKHSA experts are working closely with NHS colleagues and will be contacting people who might have been in close contact with the individual to provide information and health advice,” the UKHSA said.

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The agency considers the overall risk to the general public “very low.”

Monkeypox is similar to human smallpox, which was eradicated in 1980, and can be confused with chickenpox. Its initial symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash often begins on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body.

According to the UK National Health Service (NHS), monkeypox can be caught from infected wild animals in parts of West and Central Africa.

Monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research, hence the name ‘monkeypox.’ The first human case of monkeypox was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox. Since then monkeypox has been reported in humans in other central and western African countries.

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