Geneva: At least 92 monkeypox virus cases have been confirmed in 12 countries, the World Health Organisation has said, warning that the infection is likely to spread to more nations even as it expands surveillance.
The 12 countries - the US, Canada, Australia, UK, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden - are not endemic for monkeypox virus, meaning the virus is not typically found unlike some countries in Central and West Africa.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said new figures for the infection would be released after it registered 20 cases on Friday. Asked if community transmission was now the norm in Britain, UKHSA chief medical adviser Susan Hopkins said "absolutely".
“We are finding cases that have no identified contact with an individual from West Africa, which is what we’ve seen previously in this country,” she said. Hopkins declined to confirm reports that one individual was in intensive care, but said the outbreak was concentrated in urban areas, among gay or bisexual men.
The disease can be transmitted through contact with skin lesions and droplets of a contaminated person, as well as shared items such as bedding and towels.
Symptoms for monkeypox include fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion and a chickenpoxlike rash on the hands and face. They usually clear up after two to four weeks.
There is no specific treatment but vaccination against smallpox has been found to be about 85% effective in preventing monkeypox. Israeli authorities have said they have detected the country’s first case of monkeypox in a man who returned from abroad and were looking into other suspected cases. Austria’s first suspected case was reported reported in Vienna on Sunday.
New York officials are probing a potential case of monkeypox after a patient tested positive for the family of viruses, health officials said.
