Just days after the WHO deemed the epidemic a “global health emergency,” Spain has verified its second fatality from monkeypox as the number of cases globally rises.
The death was verified by the nation’s Ministry of Health on Saturday as its infection total increased to 4,298 and it became the world leader in terms of the number of cases outside of the US.
With 1,656 and 1,406 instances respectively, Madrid and Catalunya are the regions with the highest cases.
According to El Mundo, at least 120 monkeypox carriers—representing 3.2% of cases—have required hospitalization in Spain. One specialist has warned that further deaths are likely.
It follows the “middle-aged” guy from Alicante, in the Valencia area, who passed away on Friday, becoming the first death in Europe.
He has not been identified, but health officials said he passed away due to the disease encephalitis, a dangerous illness that causes the brain to swell.
It happened after a man in Brazil, age 41, passed away. The Eduardo de Menezes Hospital in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, was where he was being treated for major immune system issues when he passed away on Thursday.
Five of the eight deaths associated with the epidemic have so far been recorded in countries where the virus is prevalent, in Africa.
The virus strain presently afflicting Spain, according to experts there, originated in Nigeria and is less deadly than those seen in other regions of the continent.
We may witness additional deaths, Alfredo Corell, a professor of immunology at the University of Valladolid, said.
The age range of persons who have been infected ranges from 10 months old to 88, despite the fact that the average patient age in Spain is 37.
Males who have sex with other men continue to be the group most at danger, and some nations have recently started initiating vaccine efforts targeted at this population.
Huge queues for a walk-in job service were pictured at Guy’s Hospital in central London on Saturday, with similar scenes witnessed last weekend.
As they struggle to deal with being on the front lines of the epidemic, sexual health providers, particularly in the capital, have been compelled to reduce or even halt walk-ins and other services.
The World Health Organization this Monday deemed the current epidemic of monkeypox a global health emergency, indicating the necessity for a well-coordinated worldwide response.
Despite the fact that the emergency committee of the U.N. agency for health was devoid of agreement among the experts working on it, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus decided to make the proclamation.
It was the first time the head of a U.N. health organization had done something like that.
‘We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission about which we understand too little and which meets the criteria in the international health regulations,’ Tedros said.
‘I know this has not been an easy or straightforward process and that there are divergent views among the members of the committee,’ he added.
After the virus spread to more than 75 nations, the WHO made its pronouncement. The danger of contracting the virus in Europe was at the time described as “high” by Director General Dr. Tedros.
The Covid-19 pandemic, the West African Ebola epidemic in 2014, the Zika virus in Latin America in 2016, and the current campaign to eliminate polio are just a few examples of public health emergencies that the WHO has previously designated emergencies.
Despite the fact that monkeypox has been a problem in some areas of central and west Africa for decades, it wasn’t until May that officials discovered dozens of isolated outbreaks in Europe, North America, and other places.
People who have monkeypox typically have fever, enlarged lymph nodes, headaches, and muscular pains.
A rash appears after the symptoms, first on the person’s face or lips and spreading to other areas of their body, especially the hands and feet.
In other more recent instances, however, patients first noticed a rash in their mouth, around their genitalia, or on their anus.
Anyone can spread Monkeypox, but the current outbreak outside of Africa is concentrated almost exclusively among men who have sexual intercourse with men.
Intimate skin-to-skin contact, often with someone who is experiencing an active rash, as well as contact with infected bedding or clothing are the main ways that the virus is disseminated. It cannot be spread as quickly as the COVID-19 pandemic-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus.
“COVID is extremely contagious and spreads via the respiratory route.” According to Massachusetts General Hospital’s Dr. Martin Hirsch, this doesn’t seem to be the case with monkeypox.