The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has announced that from June 8, 2022, Monkeypox will be listed as a notifiable disease in law.

This will mean that if a patient is suspected of having monkeypox, doctors in England will be required to notify the local council or local Health Protection Team (HPT). Also, if laboratories identify the virus in a laboratory sample, then they will have to notify the UKHSA.

"Rapid diagnosis and reporting is the key to interrupting transmission and containing any further spread of Monkeypox. This new legislation will support us and our health partners to swiftly identify, treat and control the disease,” said Wendi Shepherd, Monkeypox incident director at UKHSA, in a statement.

"It also supports us with the swift collection and analysis of data which enables us to detect possible outbreaks of the disease and trace close contacts rapidly, whilst offering vaccinations where appropriate to limit onward transmission."

This story will be updated as more information comes in.