UK: 77 new monkeypox circumstances, biggest outbreak outside Africa

LONDON — British well being officers reported 77 extra monkeypox circumstances on Monday, elevating the full to greater than 300 throughout the nation. To date, the U.Okay. has the biggest recognized outbreak of the illness past Africa, with the overwhelming majority of infections in homosexual and bisexual males.

Health officers warn that anybody, no matter their sexual orientation, is probably vulnerable to catching monkeypox if they’re in shut contact with a affected person, their clothes or their mattress sheets.

On Sunday, the World Health Organization mentioned greater than two dozen international locations that haven’t beforehand recognized monkeypox circumstances reported 780 circumstances, a greater than 200% soar in circumstances since late May. No monkeypox deaths outside of Africa have but been recognized.

The U.N. well being company mentioned most circumstances in Europe and elsewhere have been noticed in sexual well being clinics and “have involved mainly, but not exclusively, men who have sex with men.”

So far this year, there have been greater than 1,400 monkeypox circumstances and 63 deaths in 4 international locations the place the illness is endemic — Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo and Nigeria — based on the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Genetic sequencing of the virus hasn’t but proven any direct hyperlink to the outbreak outside Africa.

WHO mentioned the sudden and sudden detection of monkeypox in quite a few international locations “suggests that there might have been undetected transmission for some unknown duration of time followed by recent amplifier events.” Last month, a leading adviser to WHO said the outbreak in Europe and beyond was likely spread by sex at two recent raves in Spain and Belgium.

WHO estimated the risk posed by monkeypox to global health was “moderate,” saying this was the primary time that so many circumstances and clusters had been reported internationally. Until final month, the illness had not been recognized to trigger giant epidemics past central and west Africa, the place it has principally affected folks in rural areas who come into shut contact with contaminated wild animals.

The ongoing outbreak of monkeypox in Europe and elsewhere, including Canada, Australia, Israel and the U.S., marks the first time the disease has been known to spread among people who have no previous travel links to Africa.

U.S. health officials said genetic analysis of recent monkeypox cases suggests there are two distinct strains in the country, raising the possibility that the virus has been circulating undetected for some time. Many of the U.S. cases were caused by the same strain as recent cases in Europe, but a few samples show a different strain, federal health officials said.

Britain’s Health Security Agency said last week most cases have been in gay or bisexual men ranging in age from 20 to 49 and that “investigations to date have identified links to gay bars, saunas, and the use of dating apps in the U.K. and abroad.”

Most monkeypox patients experience only fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. People with more serious illness may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.

Last week, WHO’s top expert on monkeypox, Dr. Rosamund Lewis, said she doubted the disease would trigger a pandemic, but said actions should be taken quickly to curb its spread so it doesn’t become entrenched in new areas.

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This story has been corrected to indicate that the variety of new circumstances is 77, not 73.