Cases of monkeypox have been identified in European and American countries, giving health authorities another reason to worry about amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that is in its third year now.
While health officials are keeping a watch on the progression of the cases, the outbreak of the disease is rather surprising as the infection has rarely been seen outside Africa until now.
The disease now appears to be spreading among people who did not travel to Africa and the cases have mostly been detected among young men. However, health officials have stressed that the risk to the general population is low.
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Monkeypox is a virus that originates in wild animals like rodents and primates, and occasionally jumps to people. Most human cases have been in central and west Africa, where the disease is endemic.
List of countries where the disease has been identified in recent days:
> Health officials in Spain reported seven cases of monkeypox and Portugal updated its number of confirmed cases to 14 on Thursday as an outbreak of the disease expanded in Europe.
> In Spain, all of the reported cases to date involved men in Madrid, officials said. Health officials are currently testing another 22 suspected cases, said Antonio Zapatero of the regional health department.
> Italy on Thursday reported its first case of monkeypox, joining a number of other European and North American nations in detecting the disease endemic in parts of Africa.
> One person in Sweden has a confirmed case of monkeypox, health authorities said.
> In the United Kingdom, nine cases of the strain have been reported so far.
> Health officials in Canada are investigating up to 13 cases in Montreal.
> A day ago, Massachusetts in the United States reported a case of monkeypox in a man who recently travelled to Canada, and health officials are looking into whether it is connected to small outbreaks in Europe.
The illness was first identified by scientists in 1958 when there were two outbreaks of a “pox-like” disease in research monkeys — thus, the name monkeypox. The first known human infection was in 1970 – in a nine-year-old boy in a remote part of Congo. The rare disease usually manifests itself through fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, and a rash on the hands and face.
(With agency inputs)
