Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the World Health Organisation Director-General's statement on 25 June, in which he declared the Monkeypox outbreak an "evolving health threat", what steps they are taking to stop the spread of that virus.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is working with system partners to prevent onward transmission of the monkeypox virus, raising awareness of the outbreak and advising the public on symptoms and how to access the appropriate treatment options.

The UKHSA has procured more than 20,000 doses of the smallpox vaccine Imvanex, which is being offered to identified close contacts of those diagnosed with monkeypox to reduce the risk of symptomatic infection and severe illness. On 21 June 2022, the UKHSA recommended that gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men at higher risk of exposure to monkeypox should be offered the vaccine to control the outbreak. Vaccines are also being offered to at risk healthcare workers.