Four queer men diagnosed with monkeypox in ‘rare and unusual’ UK outbreak

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Four queer men in the UK have contracted monkeypox, health officials have confirmed.

After three cases of the rare virus were discovered in early May, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Monday (16 May) that three men in London and one in the northeast have been diagnosed with monkeypox.

The four all acquired monkeypox in the capital, and have no known links with the three previous cases.

Because the virus is spread through close contact, officials are advising queer men “to be alert to any unusual rashes or lesions on any part of their body, especially their genitalia, and to contact a sexual health service if they have concerns”.

The four cases were all passed on through close sexual contact. Monkeypox is, however, in no way a sexually transmitted disease.

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The first infection was discovered 7 May in a person who had returned from Nigeria. The virus was recorded for the first time in the UK in 2018.

Monkeypox – named because it was first seen in research monkeys – is spread by very close contact with an infected person, the UKHSA said. Most people recover within only a few weeks but can become more serious.

“This is rare and unusual,” said UKHSA chief medical adviser Dr Susan Hopkins, adding that the agency is working with local and international health officials to identify and contact trace any further cases.

“We are contacting any potential close contacts of the cases to provide health information and advice.”

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Some of the patients diagnosed with monkeypox are in specialist infectious disease units at the Royal Free Hospital, Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne and Guys’ and St Thomas’ in London.

UKHSA has detected four new cases of monkeypox – three in London and one in the North East of England