Isolated cases of monkeypox occur in almost all of Europe. A connection cannot be deduced. Therefore, experts assume that the virus has been passed on for a while. Even if the risk is small, the WHO wants to raise awareness of the disease.
Monkeypox infections are steadily increasing in Great Britain. “We are discovering more cases every day,” UKHSA senior medical adviser Susan Hopkins told the BBC. According to them, the rare viral disease is now spreading in Great Britain without any connection to West or Central Africa, where the pathogen is native.
Great Britain had reported 20 cases by Friday, and Hopkins has now announced a new balance sheet for Monday with the numbers from the weekend. There are “new” cases every day, she said. Most infected adults have “relatively mild” symptoms. She initially did not want to confirm reports that an affected person had to be treated in the intensive care unit.
Monkeypox cases have been detected in several European and North American countries since early May. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, and a rash that often starts on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body. Most people recover within several weeks.
There is no specific treatment for monkeypox. However, the normal smallpox vaccination is 85 percent preventive. According to Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi, the British government has already started buying up stocks of smallpox vaccine. “We take it very, very seriously,” he told the BBC.
According to the current state of research, close physical contact is required for transmission. Hopkins confirmed information from the WHO that so far it has mainly been homosexual or bisexual men who have been infected. She urged caution. The UN organization in Geneva said it was “urgently necessary” to raise awareness of the virus. In addition, cases would have to be identified and isolated comprehensively, and routes of infection would have to be traced.
Three cases of the viral disease have now been confirmed in Germany, one in Munich and two in Berlin. As of Saturday, the WHO reports around 90 confirmed infections and 30 suspected cases in countries where the virus, which is native to West and Central Africa, does not normally occur. The infections are atypical because most of those affected have not previously traveled to these countries. Belgium has now introduced a 21-day quarantine for infected people.
The fact that the cases are found across Europe suggests that the virus has been passed on for a while. In Europe, cases have so far been reported from Spain, Great Britain, France, Italy and Switzerland. There was also evidence of the disease in Australia, Canada and the USA.
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