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Public Health is closely monitoring the international outbreak of a new variant of mpox, with a meeting pulling together various government departments scheduled for later this week.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared that the upsurge of mpox is a "public health emergency of international concern".
At least 450 have died in an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the disease spreading to areas of Central and East Africa, and the first case in Europe being confirmed in Sweden last week.
Responding to questions from Express, Dr Nicola Brink, Director of Public Health in Guernsey, said the situation is being “closely” monitored and a response being kept “under review”.
“We have convened a multi-disciplinary team to discuss this further in a meeting later this week,” she added.
Health officials in Jersey have said there is “no significant cause for concern at this stage” and that the island has adequate stocks of the vaccine, and they are awaiting further guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.
Mpox, which was previously known as monkeypox, is transmitted through rodents and close contact such as sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.
It causes flu-like symptoms, skin lesions and can be fatal, with four in 100 cases leading to death.
Pictured: Dr Nicola Brink.
UK ministers have since met to discuss the UK's preparedness, with Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty involved in talks this week.
Mpox is most common in the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa, and there are thousands of infections every year.
But there was community transmission of another strain in the Europe and North America in 2022, which led mpox to be listed as a legally notifiable disease locally.
This means healthcare professionals who suspect a patient is infected must inform senior medical officials.
There was also a suspected case in Jersey in 2022.
The European Union's Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has updated its advice and now recommends that anyone travelling to 16 African countries where the new variant is prevalent should be vaccinated before they go.
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