May 24, 2022 21:00:00

The epidemic of 'monkeypox' in Europe may have spread through sex between men

On May 23, 2022 local time, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there were more than 100 cases of '

monkeypox ' in Europe. Health authorities in each country are becoming more vigilant about monkeypox, which suddenly spreads in Europe, but it is reported that this may be caused by 'sex between men'.

Expert: Monkeypox likely spread by sex at 2 raves in Europe --The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/expert-monkeypox-likely-spread-by-sex-at-2-raves-in-europe/2022/05/23/fdef8d88-da79-11ec-bc35-a91d0a94923b_story. html

Monkeypox outbreaks tied to sex at 2 raves in Europe | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/monkeypox-spread-through-sex

Monkeypox goes global: why scientists are on alert
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01421-8

Monkeypox is an infectious disease that develops when infected with the monkeypox virus, which is similar to the smallpox virus, and usually infects humans from wild animals, including rodents and primates. Monkeypox is an infectious disease that is rarely reported outside Africa, but it is also showing signs of epidemic in Europe, and according to WHO, more than 100 cases of monkeypox have been reported in Europe. It seems that most of the cases reported in Europe have been reported in Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.

WHO adviser and epidemiologist David Hayman told The Associated Press that 'monkeypox is known to spread when it adheres to the lesions of infected people, and this epidemic is due to sexual contact. It looks like it is. '

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that most cases of monkeypox reported in Europe were 'infected by having sex between men,' and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) said. The nature of the lesions in the reported cases suggests that monkeypox reported in Europe is sexually transmitted. '

ECDC states that close contact with infected people's clothing and bedding can lead to monkeypox virus. Intimate contact, long-term face-to-face contact, respiratory droplets, and mediator-mediated onset are expected. '

Andrea Ammon, director of ECDC, said, 'Most of the current cases show mild symptoms, so it is highly unlikely that the infection will spread to more people.' 'For example, the virus is likely to spread further among people with multiple sexual partners,' he said.

According to the CDC, symptoms of monkeypox include fever, chills, malaise, muscle aches, headaches, and swollen lymph nodes. When infected with monkeypox, a rash develops from day 1 to day 3, the rash spreads from the face to the entire body, and the light brown spots called papules then become pus-filled acne called vesicles and pustules. It is said that it will change. Monkeypox is an infectious disease that heals spontaneously within 2 to 4 weeks after the onset, but ECDC recommends that the infected person be quarantined voluntarily until the scab caused by the rash is completely healed. In addition, monkeypox usually has mild symptoms, but it seems that the symptoms may become more serious in people with immunosuppression such as infants and pregnant women.

The monkeypox virus was first detected by researchers in experimental monkeys in 1958. Thousands of cases have been reported in Africa, but mainly only in the central and western parts of the African continent, and cases reported in other regions are extremely rare and basic. The infection was only found in animals imported from Africa. In May 2022, more than 100 cases of such monkeypox infection were reported in Europe, which exceeds 'the number of monkeypox infections reported in regions other than Africa since 1970'. The scientific journal Nature reports.

by UK Health Security Agency / Science Photo Library

'It's amazing how monkeypox spreads,' said Henri Moan, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has been studying monkeypox for over a decade in the Democratic Republic of Congo. comment.

Meanwhile, Jay Huber, a virologist at the U.S. Army's Institute for Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick, Maryland, said, 'Monkeypox is not as powerful as the new coronavirus infection. , The cures and vaccines to control the spread of the infection have already been established, so there is no need to worry about the spread of monkeypox more than necessary. '

According to Nature, a study of monkeypox cases reported in Portugal reveals that the virus may have come from West Africa from genetic data for the monkeypox virus. In addition, this virus strain causes milder symptoms than the virus strain that is prevalent in Central Africa, and the mortality rate is also low.