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More and more countries record cases or suspicions of the disease of monkey pox, so far rare among humans. In Spain, the authorities raised an alarm. More and more space is devoted to the disease in European media. What is known about her?
- The monkey pox virus is spreading in Europe. Sweden and Italy joined the countries reporting patients with characteristic symptoms. An alarm was raised in Spain. Medical services explain that everything is to react in time
- The most common symptoms of monkey pox are the characteristic vesicles that appear on the skin, as well as fever and muscle pain.
- The disease came to Europe from Africa. This is most likely due to more frequent intercontinental travel since covid restrictions were lifted.
- While the situation requires a response from health departments, doctors urge us not to panic. The risk of another epidemic is, they estimate, small
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The monkey pox virus is spreading throughout Europe and America, the media reports more and more widely.
Monkey pox. In which countries has the virus been found?
In Montreal on Thursday they were tested 17 men aged 30-50 who have been suspected by doctors monkey pox.
In Madrid, the situation is similar, the Ministry of Health is waiting for the final results of the analysis of the National Center for Microbiology. We need an answer to the question of whether 23 people who developed the characteristic symptoms were caused by monkey pox or another virus. In Spain, the health department issued an alarm to “guarantee a swift and coordinated response”.
In the UK, where the figures were updated on Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases of monkey pox increased from seven to nine.
In Portugal, the health service has confirmed five cases so far, but the health ministry is still waiting for information on another 15 patients. Only men from Lisbon and the Tagus Valley are affected.
The virus situation is developing dynamically. Sweden and Italy have recently joined other countries where monkey pox is suspected. In Italy, a person who has the characteristic symptoms of blisters on the body has returned from the Canary Islands, according to statnews.com.
How did the virus get to Europe?
Monkey pox is a disease that mainly occurs in West and Central Africa. Though the virus that causes it was first detected in laboratory monkeyswhich also owes its name, it does not mean that it is the most common in these animals. Today, rodents most often transmit the virus. The most common infection with monkey pox is as a result of biting or direct contact with a sick animal, their blood or body fluids. Infection between humans was rare.
The virus has hit Europe, but why is it now? The answer is probably the loosened covid restrictions, which allow tourists to travel intercontinental, e.g. to Africa, where the virus originally spread.
My working theory is that in West and Central Africa [the virus – ed. ed.] there is a lot. Travel has resumed and therefore we are seeing more cases [of infections – ed.]
– says prof. Jimmy Whitworth of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, quoted by the Reuters Agency.
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Can you catch monkey pox through sexual intercourse?
The UK Health Safety Agency warned homosexual men to be careful when having intercourse.
As it turns out many of the patients first went to the clinics in Montreal for treatment sexually transmitted diseases, according to statnews.com, referring to the announcement of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Doctors confirmed that they had changes in the area of intimate places, as well as in the mouth. They complained of the pain and itching of the vesicles.
Scientists believe that the virus is most commonly spread in a situation of close contact, including sexual intercourse.
In general, monkey pox is spread through the respiratory tract, but an analysis of 23 suspicious cases [from Madrid – ed. Ed.] indicates that it is transmitted through mucus during sexual intercourse
– is an excerpt from a statement by the Madrid Regional Department of Health, quoted by The Guardian.
What are the symptoms of monkey pox?
Monkey pox causes numerous symptoms, including fever, muscle aches, chills, and in some patients locally enlarged lymph nodes can also be located.
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The most characteristic symptom, however, is a rash. It has the form of bubbles, from which, among others, doctors are taking samples for testing today. These bubbles can be located on the hands, face, and other parts of the body, such as the genitals mentioned above.
Monkey pox. What is the mortality and prognosis?
In many cases, the disease is not serious. People recover fairly quickly, usually within days or weeks.
Affected people are doing well and isolating themselves at home, but we are keeping a close eye on them in case they need hospital treatment
– reads an excerpt from a statement by the Madrid Regional Department of Health.
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The only strain of the virus currently reported to occur in Europe is the West African strain. It is important because this strain has a lower mortality rate, oscillating around 1%. There are other, much more dangerous varieties, such as the one from the Congo area, which has a mortality rate of ten times higher. Some sources, however, are far more worrying, indicating that the death rate of West African monkey pox is 3-4%.
It is worth noting that the availability of medical assistance has a large impact here, which may reduce mortality in Europe.
As with the coronavirus, the condition of the body affects how a person goes through the disease in the case of the monkey pox virus. Whether your symptoms are severe or mild depends on your immune system. There are more deaths among children and adolescents.
In the case of prognosis for COVID-19, comorbidities were important. Also in the case of the monkey pox virus, their presence affects the prognosis.
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Possible outbreak of another epidemic? The chance is “small”
Currently, experts from many countries are wondering whether the virus could trigger another epidemic in Europe. According to the epidemiologist at the Spanish center for health crises, Dr. Fernando Simon, there is such a chance, but it is small.
However, this cannot be ruled out
– says Dr. Simon bluntly, quoted by The Guardian.
Monkey pox worries doctors for one more reason. There is a need to analyze the emergence of new cases of virus infection in Europe and other continents as soon as possible. It is very important because, as Prof. Anne Rimoin, an epidemiologist at UCLA, California, may have “new ways of spreading the virus” or “changes in the structure of the virus”, although this is yet to be verified by doctors.
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Experts argue not to panic. It is doubtful that an outbreak of monkey pox will break out any time soon, which does not mean that the few outbreaks that have emerged in Europe and America should not be taken seriously.