British health officials reported another 77 cases of monkeypox on Monday, raising the total to more than 300 across the country. To date, the United Kingdom has the largest outbreak identified outside of Africa, with the majority of infections in gays and bisexual men.
Health officials warn that anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, is potentially at risk of contracting monkeypox if they come into close contact with a patient, the patient’s clothes or sheets.
On Sunday, the World Health Organization said more than two dozen countries that had not previously identified cases of monkeypox had reported 780 cases, more than a 200 percent jump in late May cases. No monkeypox deaths have yet been identified outside Africa.
The UN Health Agency said most cases in Europe and elsewhere had been seen in sexual health clinics and “mainly but not exclusively men who have sex with men”.
Unexpected discovery of monkeypox in many countries
So far this year, there have been more than 1,400 cases of monkeypox and 63 deaths in four countries where the disease is endemic – Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo and Nigeria – according to the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Genetic sequencing of the virus has not yet shown a direct link to the outbreak outside Africa.
The WHO said that the sudden and unexpected discovery of monkeypox in many countries “suggests that there may have been an undetected transmission for some unknown period of time, followed by recent events with an amplifier.” Last month, a leading WHO adviser said the epidemic in Europe and beyond had probably spread sexually at two recent raves in Spain and Belgium.
Microscopic view of skin tissue collected from a lesion on a monkey’s skin that has been infected with the monkeypox virus seen in a 1968 photograph (Handout / Reuters)
The WHO said the risk posed by monkeypox to global health was “moderate”, saying it was the first time so many cases and clusters had been reported worldwide. Until last month, the disease was not known to cause major epidemics outside Central and West Africa, where it mainly affects people in rural areas who come into close contact with infected wildlife.
The continuing outbreak of smallpox in Europe and elsewhere, including Canada, Australia, Israel and the United States, is the first time the disease has been known to spread to people who have not previously traveled to Africa.
Canada has at least 77 confirmed cases of monkeypox, according to data provided Friday by Canada’s chief public health official and Sante Quebec, the provincial Department of Health. Of the cases identified so far through laboratory tests, 71 are from Quebec, five from Ontario and one from Alberta.
Actions are needed to limit the spread
U.S. health officials say genetic analysis of recent cases of monkeypox suggests there are two different strains in the country, increasing the chances of the virus circulating undetected for some time. Many cases in the United States are caused by the same strain as recent cases in Europe, but several samples show a different strain, U.S. federal health officials said.
The British Health Security Agency said last week that most cases involved gay or bisexual men between the ages of 20 and 49 and that “previous investigations have linked to gay bars, saunas and the use of dating apps in the UK and abroad. “
Most patients with monkeypox experience only fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. People with more serious illnesses can develop rashes and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.
Last week, WHO chief expert on monkeypox, Dr Rosamund Lewis, said he doubted the disease would cause a pandemic, but said swift action should be taken to limit its spread so that it does not is taking root in new areas.
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