UK tells citizens to abstain from sex and use condoms, as monkeypox cases rise

Test tubes labelled "Monkeypox virus-positive and negative" are seen in this illustration taken May 23, 2022. REUTERS

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has advised its citizens infected with monkeypox to isolate themselves for three weeks and abstain from sex as soon as symptoms appear.

The agency also advised those who have healed from the disease to use condoms for eight weeks as a precaution and avoid contact with other people until their lesions have healed and the scabs have dried off.

So far there have been 71 additional cases of monkeypox identified in England, according to UKHSA taking the total number of confirmed cases in the UK as a whole from May 7 to 179.

UKHSA released these new guidelines as part of fresh guidance as cases of the mild viral illness continue to surge in the country.

The highest risk of transmission is through direct contact with someone with monkeypox - but the overall risk to the UK population remains low, said Ruth Milton, senior medical advisor and monkeypox strategic response director at UKHSA.

More than 300 suspected and confirmed cases of monkeypox - a usually mild illness that spreads through close contact and can cause flu-like symptoms and pus-filled skin lesions - have been reported in May, mostly in Europe.