Monkeypox news – live: Two more cases in Scotland as NI and Wales log first infections

Swiss drugmaker Roche said on Wednesday the company and its unit have developed three test kits to detect the monkeypox virus, as the disease spreads in regions outside Africa, where the virus is not normally found.

There have been more than 200 suspected or confirmed cases in Europe and North America of monkeypox, according to the World Health Organisation.

The firm said one of the three LightMix Modular Virus kits detects orthopoxviruses, the biological grouping which includes viruses associated with monkeypox as well as smallpox and cowpox.

Spain has said it will buy up supplies for a monkeypox vaccine as the number of cases in the country reached 55.

Health Minister Carolina Darias said the government would purchase Imvanex vaccine, which is made by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic , but she did not specify the number of doses.

The UK earlier said it had procured doses of the shot, which is also used to treat smallpox.

Scientists have found a potential antiviral treatment for monkeypox, though they said the disease remains a far less significant risk than Covid.

New research into past outbreaks of monkeypox in the UK identified a patient who had shortened symptoms after being treated with one of two antivirals designed for smallpox.

Our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas has the story:

Got questions about monkeypox? Take part in our ‘Ask Me Anything’ with an expert.

Dr Sarah Pitt, a virologist at the University of Brighton and Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science, will be on hand to answer Independent reader questions at an ‘Ask Me Anything’ event on Thursday 26 May.

It starts at 3pm today - put your questions in the comments box at the bottom of the article below and Dr Pitt will do her best to answer as many as possible.

Spanish health authorities reported 25 new cases of monkeypox on Thursday, bringing the total tally of infections in one of the main hotspots of the recent outbreak to 84.

The health ministry, which now considers all non-human-origin pox infections as monkeypox after a positive test while before only counting those confirmed by sequencing, also said there were 73 suspected cases.

Minister of health Carolina Darias on Wednesday said Spain would buy monkeypox vaccines as part of the EU joint vaccine purchases and confirmed that the west African strain, which has a fatality rate in about 1 per cent of cases, was the one detected in Spain.

Spain, England and Portugal are the countries with the most cases in the recent outbreak of the usually mild viral disease outside its endemic areas in parts of west and central Africa.

Below is a list of countries that have so far reported suspected or confirmed cases.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* AUSTRALIA on May 20 reported its first case in a traveller who recently returned from Britain. Another suspected case was also identified.

EUROPE

* AUSTRIA confirmed its first case on May 22.

* BELGIUM detected two cases on May 20.

* CZECH REPUBLIC detected its first case on May 24.

* DENMARK confirmed a second case on May 24, a day after the first.

* FINLAND discovered a "highly likely" first case, Helsinki hospital district said on May 25.

* FRANCE’s number of confirmed cases rose to five on May 25.

* GERMANY has confirmed three cases, with the first registered on May 20.

* ITALY has confirmed six cases by May 25. It detected its first case on May 19.

* The NETHERLANDS reported its first case on May 20. It has since confirmed "several" more patients, without stating the exact number.

* PORTUGAL reported 10 new confirmed cases on May 25, bringing the total to 49.

* SLOVENIA confirmed its first case on May 24.

* SPAIN confirmed seven new cases on May 25, bringing the country’s total to 55.

* SWEDEN confirmed its first case on May 19.

* SWITZERLAND reported its first confirmed case on May 21.

* The UNITED KINGDOM detected 14 new cases in England on May 24, taking the total of identified cases to 70.

MIDDLE EAST

* ISRAEL confirmed its first case on May 21.

* The UNITED ARAB EMIRATES detected its first case on May 24, state news agency WAM reported.

AMERICAS

* ARGENTINA reported its first suspected case on May 23. No cases are yet confirmed in South America.

* CANADA has confirmed 15 infections in the Quebec province as of May 24. The province’s health department said more cases from other parts of the country were expected.

* The UNITED STATES has confirmed two cases, the first on May 18. A third case is suspected as of May 23.

Northern Ireland has recorded its first case of monkeypox, officials have said.

The Public Health Agency of Northern Ireland made the announcement on Thursday morning.

The body added that it wanted to "ensure that we are fully prepared for any potential risk to the population".

The UK has secured more than 20,000 doses of a safe smallpox vaccine.

The Health Security Agency said on Thursday it had procured a shot called Imvanex.

It said the move was “part of our rapid resopne” to rising monkeypox cases in the UK.

A health official in Wales has stressed that the monkeypox virus does not spread easily, after the country reported its first case.

Dr Giri Shankar, director of health protection for Public Health Wales, said: “The case is being managed appropriately. To protect patient confidentiality, no further details relating to the patient will be disclosed.”

He added: “We are reassuring people that monkeypox does not usually spread easily between people, and the overall risk to the general public is low.

“It is usually a mild self-limiting illness, and most people recover within a few weeks. However, severe illness can occur in some individuals.”

The first case of monkeypox has been identified in Wales, bringing the UK total to 79.

Read the full story here by Samuel Lovett