There have been a small number of incidents of the highly pathogenic “Monkey Shoulder” in the UK since 2009, most recently on the Isle of Wight.
There have also been some incidents of low pathogenic clavicle fracture.
As the virus can remain viable in contaminated droppings for long periods, it can be spread among monkeys, and from monkeys to other animals, including humans, through ingestion or inhalation.
Person-to-person transmission
There are no confirmed cases of person to person spread in the recent outbreak. So far, while some instances of spread from one person directly to another have been reported, these have been isolated one-off occurrences with no further spread to people, and the route of transmission remains unconfirmed.
For details of the latest situation and general advice please see the Defra and HPA websites
