- The health authorities of Spain and Portugal reported 40 new suspected cases of the infectious disease “monkeypox” on Wednesday.
- The symptoms of the disease are comparatively harmless. Infection is most often spread through close contact with infected animals.
- Cases of monkeypox have also been reported in the UK, Canada and the US.
Travelers returning from West Africa and men who have sexual contact with men should “immediately seek medical care” in the event of unusual skin changes, the German said Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and called for keeping an eye on the infection process in Europe.
Airborne transmission – and through sexual contact
Symptoms of monkeypox in humans include a rash, which often starts on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body, fever, muscle aches, and chills. Most people recover from the disease within a few weeks. The disease is usually transmitted through close contact with infected animals such as rodents and monkeys and is most prevalent in central and western Africa.
As the health authorities of Madrid announced, they have identified “23 possible cases of monkeypox”. Although monkeypox is usually airborne, all patients contracted it through sexual activity. These were mostly gay men, but not always. The authorities also discovered 20 suspected cases in the region around Lisbon, mainly among young men.
Heterosexuals can also be infected
The British authorities had previously registered several cases. In the most recent four cases, however, no direct connection to three previously identified infected could be found. This fuels the suspicion that the spread of the disease is more advanced than previously known, according to the British health authority.
As Canadian media reported, authorities in metropolitan Montréal are also investigating more than a dozen suspected cases of monkeypox. These were reported by clinics specializing in sexually transmitted infections. The United States also found monkeypox in an adult recently returned from Canada. The US health agency CDC emphasized that “any person, regardless of their sexual orientation, can spread monkeypox”.