Portugal confirms 5 monkeypox cases in men as outbreak spreads
India Today
Five cases of monkeypox in young men have been confirmed by the Portuguese health authorities.
Portuguese health authorities on Wednesday confirmed five cases of monkeypox in young men, and Britain announced two more new cases, marking an unusual outbreak in Europe of a disease typically limited to Africa.
Portugal’s General Directorate for Health said that it was also investigating 15 suspected cases and that all were identified this month in the area around the capital, Lisbon.
All the Portuguese cases involve men, most of them young, authorities said. They have skin lesions and were reported to be in stable condition. Officials did not say if the men had a history of travel to Africa or any links with recent cases in Britain or elsewhere.
In the US on Wednesday, state health officials in Massachusetts reported a case of monkeypox in a resident who had traveled to Canada, and investigators are looking into whether it is connected to the European outbreaks.
British health authorities said Wednesday they had identified two new cases of monkeypox, one in London and another in southeast England. They said that neither patient had previously traveled to Africa and that it was possible they were infected in the UK The cases had no known links to other previously confirmed patients, suggesting there may be multiple chains of monkeypox transmission happening in the country.
Dr. Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser of Britain’s Health Security Agency, said the latest cases, alongside the other infections reported in Europe, “confirms our initial concerns that there could be spread of monkeypox within our communities.”
The agency said recent cases had been seen “predominantly in gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men,” although it noted it was unclear how exactly people had been infected.
