Post by Admin on May 23, 2022 12:49:13 GMT
Monkeypox found in three new countries, as scientists look for cause of outbreak - BBC News
5,960 views May 23, 2022 Monkeypox cases have been identified in Israel, Switzerland and Austria, meaning the outbreak has now been found in 15 nations outside Africa.
However, the risk to the wider public is said to be low.
Anyone who has had contact with a monkeypox case is being advised to isolate for 21 days, according to official guidance in the UK and Austria.
The UK Health Security Agency has also warned that some groups could be vulnerable to severe illness from the virus, including pregnant women, immunosuppressed people, and children under 12.
As of 21 May, 13:00, 92 laboratory confirmed cases, and 28 suspected cases of monkeypox with investigations ongoing, have been reported to WHO from 12 Member States that are not endemic for monkeypox virus, across three WHO regions (Table 1, Figure 1). No associated deaths have been reported to date.
Table 1. Cases of monkeypox in non-endemic countries reported to WHO between 13 to 21 May 2022 as at 13:00
Figure 1. Geographical distribution of confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox in non-endemic between 13 to 21 May 2022, as at 13:00.
Reported cases thus far have no established travel links to an endemic area. Based on currently available information, cases have mainly but not exclusively been identified amongst men who have sex with men (MSM) seeking care in primary care and sexual health clinics.
To date, all cases whose samples were confirmed by PCR have been identified as being infected with the West African clade. Genome sequence from a swab sample from a confirmed case in Portugal, indicated a close match of the monkeypox virus causing the current outbreak, to exported cases from Nigeria to the United Kingdom, Israel and Singapore in 2018 and 2019.
The identification of confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox with no direct travel links to an endemic area represents a highly unusual event. Surveillance to date in non-endemic areas has been limited, but is now expanding. WHO expects that more cases in non-endemic areas will be reported. Available information suggests that human-to-human transmission is occurring among people in close physical contact with cases who are symptomatic.