Earlier this month, English health officials reported two imported monkeypox cases in travelers from Nigeria.
Today, Public Health England can confirm that a third individual has been diagnosed with monkeypox in England.
This person was involved in the care of the case in Blackpool Victoria Hospital before monkeypox was diagnosed.
This third case is now isolated to minimize the risk of onward transmission to others. They are being looked after in the specialist unit at Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle.
Dr Nick Phin, Deputy Director of the National Infection Service at PHE, said:
This healthcare worker cared for the patient before a diagnosis of monkeypox was made. We have been actively monitoring contacts for 21 days after exposure to detect anyone presenting with an illness so that they can be assessed quickly. It is therefore not wholly unexpected that a case has been identified.
This person has been isolated and we are taking a highly precautionary approach to ensure that all contacts are traced.
Health officials are following up with close contacts of this new case to provide advice and monitor their health. In addition, they are adopting a highly precautionary approach to minimize the risk of additional cases and are tracing anyone who had contact with this individual 24 hours before they noticed a rash.
