Further rollout of monkeypox vaccine clinics across Greater Manchester
Monkeypox vaccine clinics will be held across Greater Manchester over the next two weeks.
The first will be held today (Tuesday 20 September) at the Orange Rooms in Ashton Under Lyne, with more due to be announced.
The vaccine will be available to gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men at highest risk of getting monkeypox (for example if people have multiple partners, participate in group sex or attend ‘sex on premises’ venues, people with a recent bacterial sexually transmitted infection and those eligible for PREP - the preventative drug for HIV transmission).
People who have had recent close contact with someone infected with monkeypox, and healthcare workers caring for and due to start caring for a patient with the virus, are also eligible.
The clinics are not walk-in, and appointments should be booked in advance.
People will be eligible if they have used one of the following providers in Greater Manchester:
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust: Bolton Centre for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Shine Sexual Health Service (Salford)
HCRG: Nye Bevan House, Croft Shifa Health Centre, Middleton Health Centre, Heywood Clinic (all Rochdale); Oldham Integrated Care Centre, Glodwick Primary Care Centre, Royton Health and Wellbeing Centre, Failsworth Primary Care Centre (all Oldham); Bury Townside Primary Care Centre and Radcliffe Primary Care Centre).
Locala: The Choices Centre (Stockport) and The Orange Rooms (Tameside)]
The Northern: in Manchester at the Hathersage Centre, North Manchester General Hospital, Withington Community Hospital, or the Trafford Sexual Health Service (Trafford and Urmston clinics).
Spectrum Community Health CIC: Wigan.
General Practice (GPs): The Docs, Manchester
What is monkeypox?
Monkeypox is a zoonotic infection caused by the monkeypox virus. It was first discovered in 1958 when outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research.
The first human case was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and since then the infection has been reported in a number of central and western African countries.
Previous cases in the UK had been either imported from countries where monkeypox is endemic or contacts with documented epidemiological links to imported cases.
Between 2018 and 2021, there had been seven cases of monkeypox in the UK. In previous outbreaks there was no documented community transmission.
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How can you contract monkeypox?
The spread of monkeypox may occur when a person comes into close contact with an infected animal, human, or materials contaminated with the virus. Monkeypox has not been detected in animals in the UK.
The virus can enter the body through broken skin, the respiratory tract, or a person's eyes, nose, or mouth.
Person-to-person spread is uncommon, but may occur through:
contact with clothing or linens - such as bedding or towels - used by an infected person
direct contact with monkeypox skin lesions or scabs
coughing or sneezing of an individual with a monkeypox rash
Anyone can get monkeypox. But the outbreak has mainly been in gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men without documented history of travel to endemic countries
Keep yourself and others safe:
Clean your hands regularly with soap and water, or alcohol-based hand sanitiser.
Know the symptoms if you’re sexually active, especially with new partners. Talk to partners about their sexual health and remember symptoms can take three weeks to develop, so keep checking yourself.
Swap contact details if hooking up with someone new.
If you have symptoms, take a break from all intimate contact (including kissing) until you’ve seen a doctor and had the all-clear. If you’re recovering from monkeypox infection, remember to use condoms for 12 weeks as a precaution.
You can find out more about monkeypox at: