FILE – This 2003 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval, monkeypox virions on the left and spherical immature virions on the right, obtained from from a human skin sample associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. British health officials said on Monday 13 June 2022 that they had detected 104 more cases of smallpox in England, which it has become the largest outbreak beyond Africa of the normally rare disease. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner / CDC via AP, file)
LONDON (AP) – British health officials have detected 104 more cases of smallpox in England in what has become Africa’s largest outbreak of the normally rare disease.
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The UK Health Safety Agency said on Monday that there are now 470 cases of smallpox in the whole country, with the vast majority in gay or bisexual men. Scientists warn that anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, is likely to get smallpox from the monkey if they are in close physical contact with an infected person or their clothing or sheets.
According to data from the UK, 99% of cases so far have been in men and most are in London.
In May, a senior World Health Organization adviser said the monkeypox outbreak in Europe and beyond probably spread by sex in two recent radishes in Spain and Belgium.
Last week, the WHO said 1,285 cases of monkeypox had been reported in 28 countries where monkeypox was not known to be endemic. There are no deaths outside Africa. After the United Kingdom, the highest number of cases was recorded in Spain, Germany and Canada.
The WHO said many people in the outbreak have “atypical features” of the disease that could make it difficult for doctors to diagnose. The United Nations health agency also said that although close contact could spread the monkey’s smallpox, “it is unclear what role sexual body fluids, including semen and vaginal fluids, play in transmission.” .
Meanwhile, African countries have reported more than 1,500 suspicious cases, including 72 deaths in eight countries. Smallpox is considered endemic in Central and West Africa.