Monkeypox: New disease spreads

New cases of monkeypox virus are being discovered in the UK every day.

Outbreaks of the virus, which is most common in remote parts of Central and West Africa, have now been reported in at least 15 countries around the world. Global health authorities are meeting to discuss the situation.

Neil and Roy look at the vocabulary used in the headlines about this story.

The story?

The chief medical advisor to the UK's Health Security Agency, Dr Susan Hopkins, has told the BBC that more cases of monkeypox are being discovered in Britain every day.

So far, at least 20 people have been infected with the virus, which is most common in remote parts of Central and West Africa.

Global health authorities have been meeting in?Geneva to discuss outbreaks reported in 15 countries in Europe, North America and Australia.

Key words and phrases

ramp up

increase level of something dramatically

• The company decided to ramp up production of the new phone after high demand.
• After being told his work wasn’t good enough, Clive decided to ramp up his efforts.

formidable

describes something that causes fear because it is difficult

• Marcela faced formidable challenges to get her project funded after the financial crash.
• The politician was forced to resign after her formidable opponent accused her of lying.

explodes

increases rapidly

• The number of people working from home exploded during the pandemic.
• Sales exploded after the celebrity was seen using the new phone.