The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), has just published an overarching public health strategy for controlling and eliminating mpox (previously referred to as monkeypox) across the UK, focusing on the next 12-month period.
The document serves as a statement of intent to work towards achieving elimination of mpox transmission.
The new strategy has been agreed between the UK’s public health agencies - UKHSA, Public Health Scotland, Public Health Wales and Northan Ireland’s Public Health Agency - with a commitment to continue to work closely together in a collegiate approach towards its implementation. However, each agency is accountable for delivering its own national response.
UKHSA continues to take a lead role across government in mpox response and preparedness whilst facilitating regular inter-agency discussion and coordination on key health risks. UKHSA also leads procurement of vaccines and therapeutics, on behalf of other nations by mutual consent.
Progress towards implementation of this strategy will be monitored initially by the incident management team, transitioning to the UK’s public health agencies if the incident is de-escalated to business as usual, as per the UKHSA Incident Response Plan.
The UK’s public health agencies have agreed the following framework for measuring the level of transmission of mpox within the UK at any particular moment in time. The levels are:
- level 1: incursions from the rest of the world – small numbers of imported or import-related cases or clusters
- level 2: transmission within a defined population group
- level 3: transmission with multiple or larger population groups
- level 4: wider significant community transmission – with potential for endemic or epi-zoonotic disease
The World Health Organization (WHO) European Region defines national elimination of mpox disease as a country detecting only imported or import-related cases or clusters with onset in the previous three months and no local animal reservoir, in the presence of a well-performing surveillance system.
The strategy sets out the current aims of the UK’s public health agencies to:
- reduce harm (hospitalisation, complications, severe illness, and stigma) and health inequalities from mpox
- reduce the impact of the introduction of clade I mpox by preventing sustained transmission, particularly within sexual networks, in the UK
- achieve and maintain elimination of sustained transmission of clade II mpox in the UK
- contribute to the reduction in global burden via collaboration through sharing knowledge, data, and information.