Monkeypox could become endemic in Britain without more action from the Government, leading sexual health organisations have warned. And without more support to tackle the spread of the virus, other sexual health services are suffering.
As of July 11, there were 1,735 confirmed cases in the UK in the latest outbreak, 96% of which have been found in England, according to UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) figures. Leading organisations have called for the Government, the UKHSA and NHS England to take action to stop the spread after estimating that cases of monkeypox are doubling every 15 days.
Many sexual health services are reporting reductions in other services because of the additional burden of monkeypox, according to the British Association of Sexual Health & HIV, Association of Directors of Public Health, Terrence Higgins Trust, National Aids Trust, British HIV Association, LGBT Foundation, PrEPster, i-base and UK Community Advisory Board. And disruption to HIV services also risks jeopardising the Government's target of ending new HIV cases in the UK by 2030, they added.
