Monkeypox designated a notifiable disease

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said that monkeypox is to be listed as a notifiable disease in law from Wednesday (June 8).

The new legislation means all doctors in England are required to notify their local council or local Health Protection Team (HPT) if they suspect a patient has monkeypox. Laboratories must also notify the UKHSA if the monkeypox virus is identified in a laboratory sample.

Wendi Shepherd, monkeypox incident director at UKHSA, said: “Rapid diagnosis and reporting is the key to interrupting transmission and containing any further spread of monkeypox. This new legislation will support us and our health partners to swiftly identify, treat and control the disease.

“It also supports us with the swift collection and analysis of data which enables us to detect possible outbreaks of the disease and trace close contacts rapidly, whilst offering vaccinations where appropriate to limit onward transmission.”