UK hospital urgently tracing everyone in contact with A&E patient infected with rare virus
UK hospital urgently tracing everyone in contact with A&E patient infected with rare virus The patient has been infected with Mpox A patient has been infected with Mpox (Image: Getty Images ) A UK hospital is tracing patients and staff who may have come into contact with a person infected with Mpox. Health bosses have already got in touch with 30 patients and 20 employees after it emerged that the individual had the virus. Patients and staff who are at risk of infection have been contacted after the infected individual visited Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge, earlier this month. The UK Health Security Agency has been informed of the case, while the patient is now isolating at home. A spokesperson for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said: "We are in contact with around 30 patients and 20 staff as a precautionary measure after a patient with Mpox visited our emergency department on Saturday evening (April 12). Article continues below "The aim is to establish factors such as their proximity to the patient which, coupled with known factors like their age and vulnerability, helps determine whether they are offered a vaccine, or given advice around symptoms to look for and what to do. READ MORE: Prince Harry security team alerted after 'al Qaida assassination threat' Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here. "The UK Health Security Agency has been informed and the patient is now isolating at home and under the care of their GP. "We would reassure patients who visited A&E on Saturday there is no need to contact us – we will contact them if we think there was any possibility of exposure." Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a rare infection, the BBC reports. It is mainly found in parts of central and east Africa, according to the NHS. It is understood that the risk of catching it is low for most people in the UK. Symptoms include a high temperature, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen glands, chills, exhaustion and joint pain. The NHS says: "There have been a small number of cases of mpox in the UK since 2022. "These have mainly been a type of mpox that may be milder (called Clade 2 mpox). "Cases of the type of mpox that may be more serious (called Clade 1 mpox) are very rare in the UK. Article continues below "So far this type of mpox has mainly been found in countries across central and east Africa. "The risk of catching mpox in the UK is low for most people."
