Monkeypox

​​If you think you have monkeypox

Call your GP or call the GUM (sexual health) clinic on 01534 442856 if you either:

• think you have monkeypox symptoms
  
• have been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox or has symptoms of monkeypox
  
• think you have monkeypox symptoms and you've been to west or central Africa in the past 6 weeks

Avoid close personal or sexual contact with others until you have had a clinical assessment.

Phone the clinic ahead of your visit and avoid close contact with others until you have been seen by a clinician. Your call or discussion will be treated sensitively and confidentially.​

About monkeypox

Monkeypox is a rare infection, which is most commonly found in West or Central Africa, and it is very rarely found outside these areas. In spring 2022, however, there have been outbreaks of monkeypox in the UK and in many other countries across Europe and across the world.  The risk of catching monkeypox is low. 

There have been fewer than 5 monkeypox cases in Jersey to date.  

How you can get monkeypox

Monkeypox can spread through:

• contact with clothing, bedding or towels used by someone with the monkeypox rash
  
• contact with monkeypox skin lesions or scabs, particularly if your own skin has sores or cuts
• less frequently, the coughs or sneezes of a person with the monkeypox rash

Monkeypox is not described as a sexually transmitted infection, though it can be passed on by direct contact during sex.

In parts of west and central Africa, monkeypox can also be caught from infected rodents (such as rats, mice and squirrels) if:

• you are bitten
• you touch its fur, skin, blood, body fluids, spots, blisters or scabs
• you eat its meat and it has not been cooked thoroughly

Monkeypox in the UK and Jersey

The risk of catching monkeypox in the UK or in Jersey remains very low.

You are very unlikely to catch monkeypox if:

• you have not recently travelled to central or west Africa
• you have not been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox

Monkeypox symptoms

If you get infected with monkeypox, it usually takes between 5 and 21 days for the first symptoms to appear.

The first symptoms of monkeypox include:

• a high temperature
• a headache
• muscle aches
• backache
• swollen glands
• shivering (chills)
• exhaustion
  
• joint pain
  

A rash usually appears 1 to 5 days after the first symptoms. The rash often begins on the face, then spreads to other parts of the body. It usually spreads to the arms and legs including the palms and soles. The rash can also start in the genital area.

The rash starts as a flat rash going onto a raised rash and then blisters with clear fluid (vesicles). Each stage lasts about 1 to 2 days. 

Vesicles then become pustules (I.e. the fluid becomes opaque).

Pustules last up to 1 week before forming scabs, which then fall off. Patients are infectious from the first onset of symptoms to clearance of all scabs

The symptoms usually clear up in 2 to 4 weeks.

The rash is sometimes confused with other conditions including chickenpox. Chickenpox is much commoner and is most often seen in children. The chickenpox rash is more central and comes out in crops.

What you can do to avoid getting and spreading monkeypox

Catching monkeypox is rare, but you can do these things to reduce your risk of getting it.

What to do if you think you have monkeypox

Contact your GP or call the GUM (sexual health) clinic if:

• you think you have monkeypox symptoms
• you've been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox or has symptoms of monkeypox
• you think you have monkeypox symptoms and you've been to west or central Africa in the past 6 weeks
  

Avoid close personal or sexual contact with others until you have had a clinical assessment.

Phone the clinic ahead of your visit and avoid close contact with others until you have been seen by a clinician. Your call or discussion will be treated sensitively and confidentially.

Easy read leaflet

Easy read mokeypox leaflet