UK's monkeypox outbreak passes 1,000 cases as gloomy model warns of doomsday scenario
Daily MailMonkeypox cases in the UK have risen above 1,000 as the rare disease continues to spread, officials confirmed today. The UK Health Security Agency said there had been 1,076 infections as of Sunday, almost double the number a fortnight ago, in a sign the outbreak is not slowing down Dozens of countries have logged cases of monkeypox, which is usually only spotted in Africa and has until now fizzled out after a handful of cases in other parts of the world LARGE POPULATION RISK: Professor Kleczkowski calculated the monkeypox outbreak based on the virus R rate, herd immunity threshold and incubation period. ENDEMIC: Under separate modelling, Professor Kleczkowski said that due to monkeypox's low transmissibility and long incubation period — which allows it to survive at low levels in the population — it is possible that the virus has already been spreading in the UK 'for a long time'. To calculate how the monkeypox outbreak could continue to spread in the UK, Professor Kleczkowski estimated that each infected person would go on to infect two more people — known as the R rate. Under separate modelling, Professor Kleczkowski said that due to monkeypox's low transmissibility and long incubation period — which allows it to survive at low levels in the population — it is possible that the virus has already been spreading in the UK 'for a long time'.