THIRTY-SIX MORE MONKEYPOX CASES IN THE UK

Britain’s monkeypox outbreak today almost tripled in size as health chiefs confirmed another 36 patients have caught the tropical virus.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) bosses have now logged 57 cases in little over a fortnight, in a situation described as ‘unprecedented’ by leading experts. It has disproportionately struck gay and bisexual men.

Health officials described the outbreak as ‘significant and and concerning’, but they added the risk to the UK population remains low.

UKHSA chief medical adviser Dr Susan Hopkins thanked people for coming forward for testing, saying they were helping contain the spread of the virus.

‘Thank you to everyone who has come forward for testing already and supported our contact tracing efforts – you are helping us limit the spread of this infection in the UK,’ she said.

Anyone with unusual rashes or lesions, or other monkeypox symptoms, are being advised to contact a sexual health service, with gay and bisexual men in particular encouraged to be alert for the signs.

Boris Johnson today claimed it was important for No10 to ‘keep an eye’ on the outbreak. The Prime Minister has already ruled out introducing any Covid-like travel measures or holding an emergency COBRA meeting to discuss next steps.

It comes as MailOnline revealed today that NHS hospitals only have room to treat dozens of monkeypox patients and experts say hospitals could run out of beds soon if the outbreak continues to worsen.

Current UKHSA guidance says all confirmed cases who need hospital care must be transferred to high consequence infectious diseases (HCID) units. Only 15 such beds existed across the UK before Covid struck. Capacity was ramped up during the pandemic, but sources within the health service say it still only stands in the region of 50.

NHS bosses insist the country is equipped to deal with the outbreak through its ‘tried and tested plans’. Hospital insiders also say current HCID capacity is less than 50 per cent and many of the patients will be quarantining at home, instead.

Experts today told this website that there is ‘always a risk that we can run out of beds’, and that it could happen if the ‘situation continues to deteriorate’.

Scientists also, however, insisted Covid proved the NHS can create special isolation wards in the unlikely event specialist units were overwhelmed. But monkeypox is usually a mild self-limiting illness, so not everyone requires medical care.