Monkeypox becomes a danger in Europe and North America
England, which first reported cases, detected on May 6, said in a statement Wednesday evening, May 18, that it had identified two new cases, bringing the total number of infected people to nine. With the exception of the first infected individual, who had recently travelled to Nigeria, these patients were infected in the United Kingdom, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
“These latest cases, along with reports of cases in various European countries, confirm our initial concern that there may be transmission of monkeypox within our communities,” said Dr. Susan Hopkins, UKHSA’s chief medical advisor, quoted in the release.
Monkeypox develops symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and fatigue. Rashes may occur, often on the face, and may spread to other parts of the body including the genitals. There is no treatment for monkeypox, which is spread through contact with an infected person or their body fluids, including saliva. This viral infection is self-limiting.
In the last 48 hours, Spain, Portugal, Canada and the United States have, in turn, reported the presence of monkeypox, or what appears to be monkeypox, on their territory. The two countries of the Iberian Peninsula have reported about 40 suspected or confirmed cases of the disease, which led the Spanish and Portuguese authorities to issue a national health alert.
In North America, in Canada, more than a dozen suspected cases were being examined on Wednesday 18 May in Montreal, according to the public channel Radio-Canada, which cites the city’s health authorities. And in the United States, a man who had recently visited Canada tested positive for the disease in the state of Massachusetts. Authorities are generally reassuring, stressing in Spain and Portugal that the disease is not very contagious among humans.
The problem is the multiplication of apparent outbreaks is nevertheless worrying, and the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated on Monday, May 16, that it is taking a close look at the fact that some of the cases in the United Kingdom seem to have been transmitted within the homosexual community.
“We are seeing transmissions among men who have sex with men,” which is “new information that we need to study properly to better understand the dynamics” of transmission, said Ibrahima Socé Fall, WHO’s deputy director general for emergency response, in Geneva.
But “anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, can spread monkeypox,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the nation’s top federal health agency.
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