Monkeypox cases on the rise in Europe

The number of confirmed cases of monkeypox in Europe soared on Friday (20). After the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain, it was the turn of Germany, Belgium, France, Italy and Sweden to confirm positive diagnoses of the disease. Outside the mainland, Canada, the United States and Australia have also identified people with the virus.

In Germany, the first confirmed case was in a 26-year-old Brazilian patient. The young man, who arrived in the country after a trip from Portugal and stops in Spain, is in isolation at a clinic in Munich.

With 30 confirmed diagnoses so far, Spain is the country with the most cases in Europe. Portugal appears in second position, with 24 cases. First European country to confirm a contagion of the virus, on May 7, the United Kingdom already has 20 positive patients. Data were reported by local authorities.

Also this Friday, the WHO (World Health Organization) declared the total number of cases to reach 80.

The situation sparked the alert in the health authorities. The WHO convened an emergency meeting on monkeypox on Friday.

Responsible for the DGS (Directorate-General for Health) working group to deal with the virus in Portugal, where health authorities already admit the existence of an outbreak, infectious disease specialist Margarida Tavares says that the general population still has no reason to to worry.

“As health agents and authorities, we have reason to be concerned. It is a subject that cannot be neglected, which has to be very well evaluated. But for the general population, I don’t think there are reasons”, said the doctor, in an interview with Sheet.

Monkeypox is of the Orthopoxvirus genus, the same as smallpox, and has symptoms similar to it, although less severe. Most patients recover in a few weeks, but there is a possibility of evolution to problematic cases.

The virus has two main variants: the Congo strain, which is more severe and has a mortality rate of up to 10%, and the West African strain, with a mortality rate of 1%. For now, the reported cases have been of this less deadly strain.

In addition to being less serious, the pathogen is also much less contagious than smallpox, declared eradicated by the WHO in 1980. First identified in humans in 1970, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the virus was considered, until now, to be difficult to spread. between humans.

The discovery of dozens of positive cases in Europe makes health authorities already work with the hypothesis that the virus has been circulating for some time in the continent.

“We cannot exclude this possibility [de que o vírus estivesse circulando incógnito]”, says infectious disease specialist Margarida Tavares, stating that European authorities are still trying to identify the circumstances and chains of transmission among patients already identified.

According to the ECDC (European Center for Disease Prevention and Control), most cases identified were in men who have sex with men. The entity draws attention that “there is a preponderance of lesions in the genital area” among the identified cases.

The information of the predominant occurrence of cases among men who have sex with men has prompted a wave of offensive comments to members of the LGBTQIA+ community, who already complain of stigmatization.

In Portugal, for example, all the cases already identified are in male patients. The cases were referred by health units specializing in sexually transmitted diseases. The alert, according to the Portuguese authorities, were lesions in the genital area incompatible with known STDs, such as syphilis.

According to experts, transmission occurs through prolonged close contact, not necessarily sexual. The virus can enter the human body through the respiratory tract or through direct or indirect contact with contaminated fluids.

The intensive use of photographs with black people to illustrate cases of a disease known as monkeypox has also been criticized by some activists.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control issued a recommendation for healthcare professionals in the region to be aware of symptoms, which include rash, fever, aches and chills. The entity calls for suspected cases to be immediately isolated and tested.

There is no specific antiviral therapy for the disease. Studies show that the original smallpox vaccine also offers cross-protection against monkeypox. There is evidence that the protective effect can be obtained if the application takes place soon after exposure.

The ECDC says countries should consider applying the immunizer, after a risk-benefit analysis, to individuals who have had close, high-risk contacts with positive cases.

At the local level, however, countries are still deciding how to act. According to the British press, the United Kingdom has already started to administer the immunizer to health professionals and risk contacts.

In Portugal, the Directorate-General for Health is still evaluating the situation.

“Vaccination is an important issue and it is being considered and discussed at the highest level. There are two new vaccines that are, in essence, evolutions of the original smallpox vaccine. this will happen”, says the head of the working group to deal with the virus in Portugal.