The cases of monkeypox are common in West Africa and the virus does not spread widely elsewhere (Photos: Reuters / Metro.co.uk)
The outbreak of monkeypox in Spain is linked to a super-spreading event at a sauna in Madrid.
Enrique Ruiz Escudero, the region’s health chief, told reporters on Friday that most of the country’s 30 cases have been traced to a single location in the capital.
The United Kingdom confirmed 11 new cases of monkeypox on Friday, more than doubling the total to 20.
Worldwide, 127 cases have been reported in 11 countries, according to John Braunstein, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in the United States who is monitoring the cases.
The UK Health Security Agency says a significant proportion of recent cases here and in Europe have been found in men who identify themselves as gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men.
Portugal opened nine more cases on Friday, with a total of 23. All 14 previous cases were found in gays, bisexuals and other men who have sex with men.
In Belgium, three cases are also related to a fetish festival in Antwerp, reports The Telegraph.
The Darklands Festival, which describes itself as a place where “different tribes in the gay fetish community (leather, rubber, army, skinhead, puppies …) come together to create a unique spectacle of fetish fraternity”, published a statement on its website, reading: “There is reason to believe that the virus was brought by visitors from abroad to the festival after recent incidents in other countries.”
Worldwide, 127 cases have been reported in 11 countries (Photo: Metro Graphics) Microscope image showing mature oval-shaped monkey virions, left and spherical immature virions, right, obtained from a human skin sample (Photo: AP) Image established during the investigation of an outbreak of monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (Photo: Reuters)
Outbreaks of monkeypox are common in West Africa and the virus is not common.
Therefore, reported outbreaks in Europe, Canada, Australia and the United States have raised concerns among public health experts.
The disease, first discovered in monkeys, is usually mild, but in some cases can cause severe illness.
Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.
A rash can develop, often starting in the face, which then spreads to other parts of the body, including the genitals.
It can look like chickenpox or syphilis and scabs can form that then fall off.
The incubation period of monkeypox is usually six to 13 days, but can vary from five to 21 days.
Cases in the United Kingdom are not a cluster, with individual cases not related.
The first patient identified is a person who has returned from Nigeria, but other cases are not related to travel, suggesting community transmission.
A gay man was first linked to monkeypox earlier in the week, with the UKHSA urging men who have sex with men to be on the lookout for any new rashes or lesions on their bodies.
Jimmy Whitworth, a professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), said the outbreak in the UK was “unprecedented”.
He said: “We need to engage with the at-risk community of gay and bisexual men to ensure that they are aware of the infection and report all signs and symptoms to healthcare facilities.
“Cases need to be identified, isolated and treated either in a hospital or at home, depending on the severity and circumstances.
“Close contacts should be identified and monitored for signs of infection. The monkeypox is not transmitted very much and with these measures the outbreak can be quickly controlled.
Monkeypox – what you need to know 🠑‡
There are fears that a significant number of confirmed cases of monkeypox in the UK have been gay and male. However, anyone with monkeypox can pass it on, regardless of sexual orientation. (1/2)
– Stonewall (@stonewalluk) May 20, 2022
Professor Sir Peter Horby, director of the Institute for Pandemic Sciences at Oxford University, said the spread of the virus outside Central and West Africa was an “unusual situation”.
Sir Peter told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “It is transmitted through close human-to-human contact and we have not seen it very contagious in the past.
“What’s unusual about what we’re seeing now is that we see transmission happening in the community in Europe and now in other countries, so it’s an unusual situation where we seem to have introduced the virus, but now we have ongoing transmission. within certain communities.
Smallpox is not usually a sexually transmitted infection, but it can be transmitted through direct contact during sex.
It can also be spread by touching clothes, bedding or towels used by someone with a monkey rash, as well as by coughing and sneezing at someone with the infection.
UKHSA said monkeypox is not usually easily spread among humans and the risk to the UK population remains low.
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Sir Peter said: “There seems to be some element of sexual transmission, perhaps only in the very close contact between people and skin lesions, as many of the current cases are found in gays and bisexual men.
“So it’s very important to understand that if people have unusual skin lesions, they’re really looking for attention quickly so we can control it.
“The important thing is that we are interrupting the transmission, and this is not being established in the human population in Europe.”
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Dr Hans Kluge, Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe, said: the cases currently found are among those involved in sexual activity and the symptoms are unknown to many.
“I would like to emphasize that people infected with monkeypox should not be stigmatized or discriminated against in any way.
“Timely communication of risk to the general public is important and public health authorities must widely disseminate accurate and practical advice on prevention, diagnosis and treatment.”
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