Europe is currently experiencing the largest prevalence of monkeypox cases in its history, with Spain and Portugal announcing confirmed and suspected cases.
While orbital disease tightens its grip on the continent, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) asks "everyone" to be aware of the main symptoms.
Two more people have been diagnosed with monkey chickenpox in the UK since the beginning of May, bringing the total number of infections to nine.
Recent data have raised concerns that it will spread globally in the coming months.
UKHSA has issued a new advice asking everyone to stay alert to unusual rashes around the mouth and reproductive area.
- In a new update, London Public Health Director Professor Kevin Fenton said
- "We have recently diagnosed a number of new cases of monkey pox disease in England
- specifically in the Greater London area.
- At this point, we ask everyone to be aware of the signs and symptoms that include rashes around the mouth
as well as about the reproductive area. We particularly ask gay and bisexual men, who have seen an increasing proportion of cases among them, to be aware of chickenpox disease ".
The UK Occupational Health and Safety Services Authority (UKHSA) announced last week that it was conducting investigations to assess how new patients have contracted the disease.
Transmission between humans is believed to occur through contact with body fluids or close enough contact to inhale airborne droplets.
The virus, a relative of smallpox, usually appears as a mild disease lasting no more than a few weeks.
While the symptoms of both diseases are similar, the signs of chickenpox are generally milder than those of smallpox.
Moreover, swelling of the lymph nodes is a prominent feature of monkey chickenpox, which is less common with smallpox. Rare viral infections, which kill up to one in 10 people in Africa, are not easily transmitted among humans.
It can cause fever, headache and rash, which may cause eruptions similar to those that appear with the spread of chickenpox.
According to the CDC, other common symptoms include fever, back pain and chills.
Global health issues serious warnings with confirmed cases of deadly monkey chickenpox virus!
The World Health Organization has issued a serious warning with four more cases of monkey pox detected in the UK.
- According to the UK's Health Security Agency
- the new cases detected in London and the north
- east of England are not known to be related to the previous three infections.
Chickenpox is defined as a virus commonly found in central and west Africa and can be transmitted through contact and exposure to droplets through exhalation. The World Health Organization says symptoms can be mild or severe and can include lesions that can be highly itchy or painful.
Currently, the Occupational Health and Safety Services Authority (UKHSA) has established joint contact with two of the last four infected cases.
The Government's health authority is also investigating links with the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement
- "Any illness during travel or upon return from an infected area must inform the health professional
- including information about the date of travel and recent immunization
- Residents and travellers to endemic countries must avoid contact with sick animals
(dead or living) that can harbour monkey pox virus (rodents, marsupials and monkeys) and must refrain from eating or dealing with wild game (game meat). The importance of hand hygiene with soap and water, or alcohol-based disinfectants, must be emphasized. While a vaccine and specific treatment for monkeys have recently been approved, in 2019 and 2022 respectively, these countermeasures are not yet widely available. "
UKHSA also noted that none of the new cases have visited a country where monkeypox virus is endemic, a virus that kills up to 10% of the infected population.
Last month, seven cases were identified in total, the first of which was recently returned from Nigeria, where he is believed to have contracted the virus.
Dr Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, said :
"This is rare and unusual. Evidence suggests that there may be transmission of ape pox virus in the community, spread through close contact. We particularly urge gay and bisexual men to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact the Sexual Health Service without delay ".
According to a WHO statement: "Since September 2017, Nigeria has continued to report cases of chickenpox. From September 2017 to April 30, 2022, a total of 558 suspected cases were reported from 32 states in the country. Of these, 241 cases have been confirmed, including eight deaths (cause of death rate: 3.3%). "
Two new monkey chickenpox infections recorded in Britain
The number of monkeys in the British population has increased to 3 in one week, according to the Health Safety Agency.
A statement released by the agency on Saturday read:
- "Two other people have been recorded as having chickenpox.
- The injured live in one house.
- They have no connection with the previous confirmed injury announced on May 7.
- where and how they were injured remains the subject of investigation ".
The first monkey chickenpox patient in Britain, discovered last week, visited Nigeria shortly before being diagnosed with the disease. British authorities believe he may have contracted the disease there.
The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that chickenpox is a rare zoonotic viral disease, mainly in remote areas of Central and West Africa, near the tropical rainforest.
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