Health authorities worldwide maintain alerts after the detection of cases in several countries of Monkeypox, which makes fear a start of the spread of this disease. The United Kingdom was the first country to alert the WHO but infections have already been detected in Spain, Portugal and the United States.
Monkeypox, of the Orthopoxvirus genus, is a rare disease transmissible through contact with animals or close contact with infected people or contaminated materials.
(Also read: Monkeypox: what is this disease that alerts the WHO about?)
This disease has as main symptoms fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and fatigue.
Skin rashes can also appear, especially on the face, and spread to other parts of the body.
These are the countries that have detected cases:
USA
The US authorities detected this Wednesday a first case of monkeypox in a man residing in the state of Massachusetts (northeast of the country). This is an adult man who had recently traveled to Canada, the Massachusetts health department said in a statement.
The health department did initial tests Tuesday for the virus, and the government’s US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) later confirmed it was the disease.
This, however, is not an isolated case but rather a disease that has seen a significant expansion in various parts of Europe, such as the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom
The health authorities of the United Kingdom detected this Wednesday two new cases of monkeypox and raised to a total of nine infected people who have been identified since last May 6.
The latest cases are not connected to the previous ones, the National Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said in a statement, which is “urgently investigating where and how” the infections occurred.
“These cases, together with information on cases in countries in the rest of Europe, confirm our initial concern that there could be community transmission of monkeypox.“said Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser to the UKHSA.
(Also: Monkeypox: UK confirms nine infections of the disease)
The samples are analyzed to determine how the cases arose.
Regarding the initial confirmed cases of monkeypox in the United Kingdom, the first country to alert the WHO of this disease before, it is known that they are linked to the West African variant, less serious, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). ).
The WHO explains that the West African variant has a lethality of 1%, while that of Central Africa rises to 10%.
Portugal
Portugal also confirmed 14 cases of monkey pox or “monkeypox” and is keeping almost a dozen other suspected cases under observation, according to the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS).
To the five cases that the DGS initially reported on Wednesday, nine more have been added and the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) has two other samples under analysis, DGS added in a statement.
On the other hand, about a dozen suspected cases are being monitored, with samples that have not yet been analyzed. The cases identified so far have “clinical follow-up” and are “stable.”
The DGS continues “with epidemiological investigations” to “identify chains of transmission and potential new cases and respective contacts.”
Spain
The Community of Madrid, for its part, detected 23 possible cases of infection for
monkeypox in the region, and the Ministry of Health, together with the regional governments, activated the health alert.
At this time, these cases are under study in coordination with the National Center for Microbiology to confirm the diagnosis.
In general, the transmission of the disease occurs through the respiratory route, but due to the characteristics of the 23 suspected cases of infection, it indicates that it has been due to contact with mucous membranes during sexual intercourse, the Madrid Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday.
(You can see: China confirms its first case of the most contagious omicron BA.2.12.1)
The people under study evolve positively and are isolated in their homes, although close surveillance must be maintained since they may require hospital admission.
Those responsible for Public Health are awaiting the results of the laboratory tests and evaluating the role of the smallpox vaccine to control transmission, as well as the use of antivirals if necessary.
Sweden
Swedish health authorities also announced the detection of the first case of monkeypox in the country.
“A case of monkeypox has been confirmed in a person in the Stockholm region,” the Swedish Public Health Agency said in a statement.
The infected person “is not seriously ill, but received medical care,” explained the authority, who said he did not know where and how the infection took place.
Headaches are one of the symptoms of the disease.
Outbreaks in Africa
It was also learned that several African countries detected and were able to control monkeypox outbreaks while the coronavirus pandemic hit the entire planet, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) reported Thursday. the African Union (AU).
“Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Cameroon and other countries detected outbreaks of monkeypox (during the coronavirus pandemic)“, said the newly appointed director of the Africa CDC, Ahmed Ogwell, in an online press conference of this institution.
“The disease hit communities on the fringes of large forests, and outbreaks were quickly contained, so maybe that’s why this news didn’t make it to the (international) media,” Ogwell added.
The disease affected communities on the edge of large forests
In this sense, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday that it wants to clarify, with the help of the United Kingdom, the cases of monkeypox detected since the beginning of May, especially among the homosexual community.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), meanwhile, plans to publish its first risk assessment report “early next week,” the European Union (EU) agency said.
The agency, which said to “follow the situation closely”, recommends “isolating oneself, testing suspected cases and notifying them quickly”.
(In other news: North Korea: this is how covid-19 would have entered the country)
What are the symptoms of the disease?
Initial symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and exhaustionindicates the British health agency.
A skin rash may also develop, often starting on the face and spreading to other parts of the body, including the genitals.
“The rash evolves and goes through various stages. It can have an appearance similar to chickenpox or syphilis, before finally forming a scab that later falls off,” describe the British authorities.
The agency indicates that monkeypox has not so far been described as a sexually transmitted disease, although it stresses that “can be transmitted by direct contact during sexual intercourse”.
Speaking to Efe, the spokesman for the Society for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology (SEIMC), Fernando De la Calle, stressed that it is always easier for a respiratory virus such as covid or the flu to become a pandemic, but in theory the virus
del mono or “monkeypox” has less pandemic capacity because it requires living with someone who is sick.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from Efe and AFP
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