Hospital contacts patients and staff over mpox case

A major hospital is checking if patients have been exposed to mpox - formerly known as monkeypox - after a person with the infection visited its emergency department.

Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge, has contacted 30 patients and 20 staff in an effort to detect if the rare virus has spread.

The person with mpox, which can spread through physical contact, went to Addenbrooke's on Saturday evening and has since been isolating at home, a spokesperson for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (CUH) said.

"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," they added.

Common mpox symptoms include a skin rash or pus-filled lesions. It can also cause fever, headaches, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

It is most commonly found in parts of central and east Africa, NHS guidance states.

Mpox stopped being classified as a high-consequence infectious disease in April, after a review of criteria including mortality rate and available interventions.

CUH said the UK Health Security Agency had been informed.

It was contacting patients and staff who may have been in close proximity with the infected person.

"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," the spokesman said.

Mpox can be passed on from person to person virally, through close physical contact, by infected rodents or by coming into contact with contaminated items.

CUH said for most people in the UK the risk of catching mpox is low.

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