Monkeypox outbreak: Health chiefs 'actively investigating' UK's gay bars and spas
gay and bisexual bars and spas as they try to contain the monkeypox outbreak. Nine cases of the extremely rare disease have been confirmed in the UK so far, with six of those cases relating to men who have sex with men, according to the Daily Mail.Officials say this is "highly suggestive of spread in sexual networks".There is reportedly a similar pattern developing across Europe.
In Spain, seven gay or bisexual men have tested positive, whereas Portugal has seen nine cases involving "mostly young" males.There are also fears that monkeypox may be far more widespread than we are currently aware, given that most of the patients are not linked to each other.
Today (May 19), UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warned men to look out for rashes developing on their face or genitals. The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued an update on the outbreak last night discussing the situation in the UK, which was before two more British gay or bisexual men were confirmed to have contracted it today.
In their statement, they revealed that gay venues and the sexual contacts of the confirmed patients were being investigated.The update read: "Health authorities in the UK have established an incident management team to coordinate the extensive contact tracing which is currently underway in health care settings and the community for those who have had contact with the confirmed cases."Contacts are being assessed based on their level of exposure and followed up through active or passive surveillance for 21 days from the date of last exposure to a case.
