First confirmed cases of Monkeypox in Leeds

People pictured walking by a health care facility administering a monkeypox vaccine in America, which has declared the virus a public health emergency.

In its latest update, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said there 2,914 confirmed and 103 highly probable monkeypox cases in the UK.

A total of 2,883 of these cases were in England as of August 8.

In Leeds, there were 18 confirmed or highly probable cases of monkeypox, according to the new UKHSA data.

It is the first time the figures, which were previously only regional, have been broken down by authority level.

There were 59 cases across all of Yorkshire as of August 8.

Monkeypox Leeds: Confirmed cases in Yorkshire, signs and symptoms as UK records ...

The region with the highest number of cases was London, with 2,047 confirmed or highly probable, according to the UKHSA figures.

Dr William Welfare, incident director at UKHSA, said: “While the most recent data suggests the growth of the outbreak has slowed, we continue to see new cases every day.

"While anyone can get monkeypox, the majority of monkeypox cases in the UK continue to be in gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, with the infection being passed on mainly through close contact in interconnected sexual networks.

“Please continue to be aware of symptoms, including rashes and blisters, particularly if you have recently had a new sexual partner.”

What is Monkeypox?

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that does not spread easily between people.

It is usually a mild illness that most people recover from within a few weeks. However, severe illness can occur in some individuals.

What are the symptoms?

Initial 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.

The rash changes and goes through different stages before finally forming a scab, which later falls off.

NHS advice

Speaking about Monkeypox in the UK, the NHS website said: "Although more people have been diagnosed with it recently, only a small number of people in the UK have had monkeypox and the risk remains low."

It added that people are "extremely unlikely to have monkeypox", if:

*You have not been in close contact (such as touching their skin or sharing bedding) with someone who has monkeypox or has monkeypox symptoms

*You have not recently travelled to west or central Africa

It added: "Anyone can get monkeypox.

"Currently most cases have been in men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with men, so it's particularly important to be aware of the symptoms if you're in these groups."

Is there a vaccine?

In an update on June 21, it was announced that tens of thousands of men are to be offered a vaccine in a bid to stem the monkeypox outbreak in the UK.

The UKHSA said that in a bid to control the outbreak, some gay and bisexual men at higher risk of exposure to monkeypox should be offered the smallpox vaccine Imvanex.

It said that the jab had been shown to be effective against monkeypox.