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Lacobucci G Monkeypox: doctors in England will have to notify local agencies of all suspected cases. BMJ. 2022; 377 https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o1413

NHS. 2022. www.nhs.uk/conditions/monkeypox/ (accessed 22 June 2022)

Parker S, Buller RM A review of experimental and natural infections of animals with monkeypox virus between 1958 and 2012. Future Virol. 2013; 8:(2)129-157 https://doi.org/10.2217/fvl.12.130

Rimoin AW, Mulembakani PM, Johnston SC Major increase in human monkeypox incidence 30 years after smallpox vaccination campaigns cease in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2010; 107:(37)16262-16267 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1005769107

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Monkeypox outbreak: what paramedics need to know

02 July 2022
Opinion
02 July 2022
Volume 14 · Issue 7

The current monkeypox outbreak in the UK has garnered much media attention (BBC, 2022), and triggered a public health response (UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) et al, 2022). As of 16 June 2022, there are 574 lab-confirmed monkeypox cases in the UK (UKHSA, 2022a) and there are also cases in several other countries around the world, mostly in Europe (World Health Organization (WHO), 2022a).

Monkeypox is viral zoonotic disease (i.e. virus transmitted to human from animals) caused by the monkeypox virus. It is an Orthopoxvirus similar to the smallpox virus and was named when it was first discovered in monkeys in 1958 (Parker and Buller, 2013).

The first human case of monkeypox was identified in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is an endemic disease in Central and West Africa where there is an ongoing outbreak (WHO, 2022b). Sporadic cases have also been identified in countries outside the endemic region with four cases identified in the UK since 2018 linked to travel to Nigeria, with onward transmission to three further cases within the UK (Adler et al, 2022). One of these was a healthcare worker, who likely became infected through contact with contaminated bedding (Vaughan et al, 2020).

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