World Health Organization has recorded more than 90 cases of monkeypox in a dozen countries including Britain, Spain, Israel, France, Switzerland, Australia and the U.S.
A leading adviser to the World Health Organization described the unprecedented outbreak of the rare disease in developed countries as «a random event» that might be explained by risky sexual behavior at two recent mass events in Europe. In an interview with The Associated Press, Dr. David Heymann, who formerly headed WHO’s emergencies department, said the leading theory to explain the spread of the disease was sexual transmission among gay and bisexual men at two raves held in Spain and Belgium. Monkeypox has not previously triggered widespread outbreaks beyond Africa, where it is endemic in animals.
«We know monkeypox can spread when there is close contact with the lesions of someone who is infected, and it looks like sexual contact has now amplified that transmission», said Heymann. That marks a significant departure from the disease’s typical pattern of spread in central and western Africa, where people are mainly infected by animals like wild rodents and primates and outbreaks have not spilled across borders. To date, WHO has recorded more than 90 cases of monkeypox in a dozen countries including Britain, Spain, Israel, France, Switzerland, Australia and the U.S. In the U.S., so far, the CDC says there is one. There are also suspected cases in Broward County, Florida, and New York City. The virus is spread through body fluids, skin and respiratory droplets. «It’s important to know that this virus really does require close personal contact», said Dr. Anne Rimoin, professor of epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She told CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook it’s unusual that we are seeing cases happening in several countries at the same time: «We’ve never seen that.»
Madrid’s senior health official said on Monday that the Spanish capital has recorded 30 confirmed cases so far. Enrique Ruiz Escudero said authorities are investigating possible links between a recent Gay Pride event in the Canary Islands, which drew some 80,000 people, and cases at a Madrid sauna.
