James M, 35, has become the first British smallpox patient to be made public
MailOnline may reveal that the first British smallpox patient to be made public is a human resources manager in London who caught the virus after being deported from Dubai to test positive for HIV.
James M, 35, has spoken out after health officials have not yet contacted him, although he was diagnosed with smallpox almost 15 days ago.
He criticized the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for “a real lack of any basic process or care to stop the spread” of the tropical virus, which has so far infected more than 300 Britons, mostly gay men and bisexuals.
James, who wanted to keep his last name anonymous, admitted that he did not follow the rules of self-isolation because he states that “he was told to stay home until the UKHSA contacted me … and they never did. “.
He accused the UK of taking a casual approach to tracking contacts, saying it was “not uncommon” for Britain to have more cases than any other country outside Africa. There is also a lack of awareness about the lesser-known symptoms of monkeypox, he said.
James was readjusting to life in west London when he began to experience “really weird pains” in his lower back, exhaustion, extreme thirst and pain when he used the toilet.
She was convinced she had a sexually transmitted infection (STI) after sleeping with about 10 new partners for weeks before her symptoms started.
“I’m a gay man, and when I first came back to the UK, I had a good time,” he told MailOnline.
But doctors mistakenly assumed it was not monkeypox because it did not have a revealing rash of the virus.
James had just returned from Dubai, where being gay is illegal, after four years after being diagnosed with HIV “shock” in February. She saw him lose his job and his home.
After contacting his local ITS clinic in west London, James was sent for testing at a specialist center in Soho on 25 May and was told to avoid public transport or close contact with other people.
“When I got to the clinic they told me to go wait outside the front door and call them, they told me they would put PPE on and told me not to touch the door handles,” he said.
“The whole experience increases your sense of ‘oh, this must be very serious.’
By then, several dozen people had already been diagnosed with the mysterious monkeypox virus and it was clear that the virus was spreading in London among gay and bisexual men.
The UKHSA claims to have made multiple attempts to contact James.
He admitted that he did not follow the rules of self-isolation because “I was told to stay home until the UKHSA contacted me … and they never did.”
But James says doctors assured him that his symptoms could not be the rare disease because he did not have his injuries, scabs or distinctive spots.
On May 28, three days later, a PCR test confirmed that he was in fact infected with monkeypox.
A letter sent by Chelsea and the Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, seen by MailOnline, told him to “stay home until a new team review” at the UKHSA.
James has not been contacted yet, although eight days have passed since the letter was issued. He claims to have called his local STI clinic every day since diagnosis.
He told MailOnline, “It’s no wonder we’re getting so many more infections now if there’s no trace of contact or awareness that you don’t need the stains to explain the virus to people.
“No one asked me who I was in contact with. They told me that within 24 hours of my diagnosis someone from the UKHSA would call me.
“I call the clinic every day, asking, ‘Why don’t they call me, they won’t let me out or go to work. The UKHSA doesn’t call me, someone has to document it.’
James still doesn’t know who got the virus, but says he has “a hunch”: someone who “had a stain on his chest.” He added: “I asked them and they told me they always had it.”
He accused the UK of taking a casual approach to tracking contacts, saying it was “not uncommon” for Britain to have more cases than any other country outside Africa. There is also a lack of awareness about the lesser-known symptoms of monkeypox, he said.
The United Kingdom recorded 302 infections, the highest in any country, followed by Spain (190), Portugal (143), Canada (80) and Germany (66).
Doctors now have to alert health authorities to cases of monkeypox by law
Monkeypox has become a notifiable disease in England, meaning all doctors are legally required to alert local health authorities to suspicious cases.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said labs should also tell you if the virus is identified in a sample.
To date, 302 infections have been confirmed in the UK.
Wendi Shepherd, UKHSA ‘s director of smallpox incidents, said: “Rapid diagnosis and notification is key to stopping transmission and containing any other spread of monkeypox.
“This new legislation will help us and our healthcare partners quickly identify, treat and control the disease.
“It also helps us with the rapid collection and analysis of data that allows us to detect possible outbreaks of the disease and quickly track close contacts, while also providing vaccinations when appropriate to limit transmission.”
David Heymann, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), said: from all sectors (public and private) and from all parts of the NHS.
“It suggests that the government wants to focus surveillance on the entire population, not just the risk groups identified so far.
“This will allow a clear identification of all risk groups and help to better understand the epidemiology and extent of the spread.”
To date, a large proportion of cases have been identified in the gay, bisexual, and male community that have sex with other men.
Smallpox is not usually a sexually transmitted infection, but it can be transmitted through direct contact during sex.
It can also be transmitted by touching clothes, bedding, or towels worn by someone with the rash of the monkey’s smallpox.
According to the UKHSA, monkeypox does not usually spread easily among people and the overall risk to the UK population remains low.
Anyone with unusual rashes or injuries to any part of their body, especially the genitals, should contact NHS 111 or call a sexual health service if they have any concerns, he said.
He fears that the lack of contact tracking means that this person may still be spreading the virus to others, unknowingly.
Since the first case of the UK was detected in the new outbreak on 6 May, 287 people have been diagnosed with the tropical virus in England, ten in Scotland, three in Wales and two in Northern Ireland.
Anyone testing positive for monkeypox is recommended to be isolated at home for approximately 21 days, approximately the time it takes for the virus to cause symptoms.
Infected patients are also asked to avoid sexual intercourse until symptoms disappear and to wear condoms during sexual intercourse for eight weeks after infection.
Both confirmed cases and close contacts in the UK are offered the Imvanex vaccine to form a buffer of immune people around a confirmed case to limit the spread of the disease.
The strategy, known as ring vaccination, has been used in previous monkeypox outbreaks and is also being carried out in some EU countries. Imvanex is believed to reduce the chances of catching monkeypox by up to 85 percent.
Health officials in the UK have linked the outbreak to “gay bars, saunas and the use of dating apps in the UK and abroad”. MailOnline revealed last month that the gay dating app Grindr had alerted users to the symptoms of monkeypox.
James said he ended sex for a while after six traumatic months.
“I’m a very positive person in sex, have fun, live your life, a kind of guy,” he said, but added that “the last six months have been pretty much the … worst that can happen.”
“At the moment I am very focused on rooting, making sure that this does not destabilize my career, building new networks and connections.
“Having been in a country where being gay was illegal, I will definitely enjoy it too. But more dating and some background, more than hedonistic gay parties.
James’ condition deteriorated in the days following his diagnosis, but when he tried to book an appointment at the hospital he said he was turned down because there were no specialist staff on the weekends.
“I did not receive any calls or support from any healthcare provider for almost a week after the diagnosis. I felt very bad at one point,” he added.
“I called the hospital and told them I was weak with a fever, severe back pain and had been diagnosed with smallpox and they told me ‘Don’t go to the ER, our smallpox specialists don’t work on the weekends.’ , that I was very surprised, and he filed a formal complaint to the trust.
Chelsea and Westminster Trust specialists began making daily telephone records about a week later, but by then James felt as if he was already “through the eye of the storm”.
“But I asked who is responsible for tracking contacts to try to contain the spread [of monkeypox] and she admitted that they had been damaged and did not know why no one had contacted me.
James said he hoped he would receive much more sensitive attention when he returned to the UK after the “life-changing, stressful and terrifying” experience in Dubai.
But he added: “Coming back to the UK, where he is supposed to be safe and has world-leading healthcare, it was like a kick in the teeth to have experienced this treatment.
“Although there were only 80 people with him in the UK when I was diagnosed, there was only a real lack of any basic process or care to try to stop the spread.
“It’s frustrating to leave Covid and see how lax they were with what is clearly a very communicable disease, especially with men in London.”
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