Dozens of suspected and confirmed cases of monkey pox have been identified since early May in Europe and North America, raising fears that the disease, which is endemic to West Africa, could spread..
Her health principles Of Britainwhich was the first country to detect cases on May 6, announced yesterday, Wednesday night, that two more patients had been identified, bringing to nine the total number of people infected with monkeypox virus.
With the exception of the first infected person, who had recently traveled to Nigeria, the rest of the patients became infected in Britain, according to the United Kingdom Health Insurance Agency (UKHSA).
“These latest cases, as well as reports of cases in various European countries, confirm what we initially feared: that monkey pox could be transmitted to our communities.“, Explained Dr. Susan Hopkins, UKHSA Key Medical Advisor.
Monkey pox is a rare, infectious disease, similar to the human pox that was eradicated in 1980.. Although it is milder and most patients recover within a few weeks, in rare cases it can be fatal.
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills and fatigue. Patients may also develop skin rashes, which often start on the face and spread to other parts of the body, including the genitals.
There is no cure for monkey pox, which is transmitted by contact with the infected patient or his / her body fluids, including saliva. The disease usually resolves on its own.
A little contagious between people
Yesterday, Wednesday, Spain, Portugal, Canada and the United States announced that they had spotted monkey pox or something similar to the disease in their territory.
Spain and Portugal said they had identified a total of about 40 suspected or confirmed cases of the disease, prompting their health authorities to sound a national health alarm.
In Canada, more than a dozen suspected cases were investigated yesterday in Montreal, state radio station Radio-Canada reported, citing the city’s health authorities.
In the USA, a man who had recently visited Canada was found to be positive for this disease in the state of Massachusetts.
Authorities generally try to be reassuring, stressing that the disease is not highly contagious to humans.
However, The rise of outbreaks is a cause for concern and the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday it is looking closely at some of the cases in Britain that appear to have spread within the gay community..
«We observe transmissions between men who had sex with men“, Which is”a new information that we must examine properly in order to better understand the dynamics “ said Ibrahim Sose Fal, deputy director general of emergency management at the WHO.
Nevertheless “anyone, regardless of sexual orientation can transmit monkey pox “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) underlined in the USA.
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