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Gay men could be offered monkeypox vaccines in a focused rollout, MailOnline has learned.
Experts said the strategy could be deployed if cases continue to disproportionally be in homosexual and bisexual males.
Six of Britain’s nine confirmed cases are men who have sex with men, which officials say is ‘highly suggestive of spread in sexual networks’.
Britain’s cases are expected to double today, with health chiefs expected to confirm nine more, it was claimed today.
MailOnline yesterday revealed that health chiefs were stockpiling jabs amid growing fears about the tropical virus’s spread. Ministers were already sitting on 5,000 doses but have now ordered an extra 20,000.
Close contacts of the UK’s known cases are already being offered the jab, which was originally designed for smallpox. The two rash-causing viruses are very similar.
Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, said he ‘could see a role’ for a targeted jab rollout ‘if this isn’t brought under control quickly’.
A health source told MailOnline ‘there would be a number of strategies we’d look at’ if cases continued to rise.
Nine Britons have been diagnosed with monkeypox and all but one of them appear to have contracted it in the UK. The original UK patient had brought the virus back from Nigeria, where the disease is widespread. At least three patients are receiving care at specialist NHS units in London and Newcastle
Ten countries — including the US, Spain and Italy — have now detected monkeypox, in the first global outbreak of its kind
Ten countries — including the US, Spain and Italy — have now detected monkeypox, in the first global outbreak of its kind.
Australia last night confirmed two cases, including one man in his thirties who had travelled from Britain to Melbourne with symptoms earlier this week.
The outbreak has been described as ‘unusual’ by experts because person-to-person transmission of monkeypox was thought to be extremely rare.
Before May, the UK had only ever seen seven cases of the virus, which is endemic in West Africa.
It is usually spread through handling infected animals, either through their lesions, blood, bodily fluids or eating poorly cooked meat.
But it was known that it could be passed on between humans through close contact with the likes of body fluids, respiratory droplets and lesions.
This is why experts think the virus is passing through skin-to-skin contact sex, even though this has never been seen until now.
A similar pattern is emerging in Europe. Seven gay or bisexual men tested positive in Spain.
Authorities are now probing gay bars, clubs and spas visited by British cases as they scramble to contain the outbreak.
The UKHSA has also issued a direct plea to gay and bisexual men to be vigilant for new rashes on their face or genitals.
MailOnline this week revealed close contacts of monkeypox cases, including NHS workers, are already being offered the Imvanex smallpox vaccine.
The strategy is known as ring vaccination, involves jabbing and monitoring those around an infected person to form a buffer of immune people to limit the spread of a disease.
A spokesman for the UKHSA did not disclose how many have been vaccinated, but said: ‘Those who have required the vaccine have been offered it.’
Professor Geoffrey Smith, from the University of Cambridge, who advises the World Health Organization on virus research, said: ‘It is sensible for doctors and nurses who may be treating patients with monkeypox, to be vaccinated against smallpox.
‘This outbreak of monkeypox is highly unusual, but it is very likely the precautions being taken will mean it comes to an end quickly.’
Although designed for smallpox, Imvanex can protect against monkeypox because the viruses causing the illnesses are related.
Data shows it prevents around 85 per cent of cases, and has been used ‘off-label’ in the UK since 2018.
The jab, thought to cost £20 per dose, contains a modified vaccinia virus, which is similar to both smallpox and monkeypox, but does not cause disease in people.
Because of its similarity to the pox viruses, antibodies produced against this virus offer cross protection.
The US is already stockpiling the jabs for future, ordering 13million for a reported $299million (£240million).
Smallpox has been eradicated worldwide through vaccination and British children have not routinely been offered the jab since 1971.
But experts believe young people are most at risk of catching or falling ill with the disease because they are less likely to have been vaccinated against smallpox.
Professor Ian Jones, a virologist at Reading University, told MailOnline the current vaccination policy would be enough.
‘You would need much more evidence of community spread before it [targeted rollout] could be considered,’ he said.
He added: ‘Monkeypox doesn’t spread easily and is generally a mild infection so my view would be that the current policy is enough.
‘Very few people have been infected overall and a general vaccine rollout needs the community to agree to take it up and a willingness to fight off any negative anti-vax nonsense.
‘I doubt numbers will climb much more and think the current outbreak is controllable.’
But others have suggested that a targeted roll-out could be on the cards, unless the outbreak is thwarted soon.
Professor Hunter told MailOnline: ‘I presume if the UKHSA come to the conclusion that [targeted jab rollout] is what needs to be done then it’ll be done quite quickly.’
A public health source said if the outbreak spirals, ‘there would be a number of strategies we’d look at, but at the moment there are no plans in place for that’.
Another told MailOnline: ‘I don’t think it’s something we’re looking at just yet.’
There are also a handful of antivirals and therapies for smallpox that appear to work on monkeypox, including the drug tecovirimat, which was approved for monkeypox in the EU in January.
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection which kills up to one in ten of those infected but does not spread easily between people. The tropical disease is endemic in parts of Africa and is known for its rare and unusual rashes, bumps and lesions (file photo)
Nurses and doctors are being advised to stay ‘alert’ to patients who present with a new rash or scabby lesions (like above)
Initial monkeypox symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.
A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, then spreading to other parts of the body including the genitals.
The rash changes and goes through different stages, and can look like chickenpox or syphilis, before finally forming a scab, which later falls off.
Monkeypox has an incubation period of up to 21 days, meaning it can take three weeks after an infection for symptoms to appear.
Professor Kevin Fenton, London’s public health regional director, said if the outbreak in the capital continues to grow then the rollout of vaccines and treatments could be broadened to more groups.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday: ‘If we see more cases and it continues to spread then there are plans in place to ensure we have more antiviral agents in place to deal with that.
‘We’re watching closely to see how this spreads over the next week or two and then we’ll get a better sense of how to project and plan for the month ahead.’
The UKHSA is ‘actively investigating’ venues visited by homosexual and bisexual men who tested positive in the past week.
They include bars, clubs and saunas, according to an update by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The UKHSA has said it is ‘particularly urging men who are gay and bisexual to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact a sexual health service without delay if they have concerns’.
It comes as the UKHSA is set to confirm today that eleven more monkeypox cases have been detected, which would bring the UK total to 20, according to The Times.
Ministers accept that there will be dozens more infections across the UK that have not been found and have ordered more Imvanex doses in response.
