Mr Clarke said: 'We are certainly not in a position where I would in anyway worry the public that this is some repeat of Covid, because it certainly does not appear to be anywhere near the same platform of seriousness.' Meanwhile, Simon Clarke, chief secretary to the Treasury, said he is 'cautious' but 'certainly not concerned' about the UK's ability to manage the outbreak. Visiting a school in south east London, the Prime Minister said: 'So far the consequences don't seem to be very serious but it’s important that we keep an eye on it and that’s exactly what the new UKHSA is doing.' The Government has sought to calm fears over the outbreak as the UK's infection toll today hit 21, with England set to confirm more cases this afternoon, MailOnline understands. On a visit to a school in south east London, the Prime Minister added: 'So far the consequences don't seem to be very serious.'ĭespite growing alarm about the world's growing outbreak, leading experts are adamant monkeypox won't spiral out of control like Covid, which forced nations into economically-crippling restrictions.īoris Johnson today claimed the Government is closely watching the monkeypox outbreak, as Scotland confirmed its first case of the tropical virus. Health chiefs are alarmed about the 'unprecedented' cluster of cases, which has disproportionately struck gay and bisexual men.īoris Johnson today claimed it was important for No10 to 'keep an eye' on the situation as he sought to calm fears after Scotland recorded its first case. Greece and Argentina are probing suspected cases.
Denmark is latest to confirm an infection, in a man who recently returned from Spain. Monkeypox is usually only spotted within Africa, but 16 countries - including the US, France and Spain - have all now detected the virus this month. It comes as experts warn nations could bring in travel restrictions to control the spread of the illness, if the World Health Organization (WHO) declares the outbreak an emergency. The strategy, called ring vaccination, involves jabbing and monitoring anyone around an infected person to form a buffer of immune people to limit the disease's spread. The strategy likely to be recommended is the same one already deployed in Britain. MailOnline last week revealed officials were attempting to contain the spread by vaccinating all close contacts of the 20 confirmed monkeypox cases, including NHS workers. No monkeypox-specific vaccine exists but smallpox jabs, which were routinely offered to Brits until the virus was eradicated four decades ago, are up to 85 per cent effective. European countries will be told to prepare a vaccination plan to tackle the spiralling monkeypox outbreak, it was claimed today as Denmark became the latest country to be struck down.ĮU authorities are set to publish a risk assessment, which will advise all member states to draw up an inoculation strategy to control the spread of the tropical virus.