The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has declared that (at the time of writing) three cases of mpox have been confirmed in residents of London. Two addition cases are, unsurprisingly, household contacts of the index case. Despite this unwelcome news, the overall risk of spread within the UK remains low. Containment of mpox involves identifying at risk people, testing and, where appropriate, vaccination.

This story highlights the influence modern international travel has on the spread of infectious disease.  The London cases started with a patient recently returning from holiday in at least one of the affected countries in Africa. Symptoms didn’t appear in this traveller until 24 hours after arrival in the UK. Other countries outside of Africa reporting mpox cases include Sweden, India and Germany.

Biosecurity is a valuable additional to virus containment strategies. Follow this link to view market-leading anti-mpox disinfectants, manufactured by Mirius-Coventry Chemicals, which present high-quality laboratory results demonstrating their antiviral efficacy.