Spain reports 2nd Monkeypox related death within 24 hours

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Barcelona,
July
30:
Spain
on
Saturday
reported
a
second
death
in
as
many
days
from
monkeypox.
These
are
believed
to
be
the
first
confirmed
fatalities
from
the
disease
in
Europe
since
its
recent
spread
beyond
Africa.

The
ministry
based
in
Madrid
said
both
fatalities
were
young
men.
It
reported
its
first
death
on
Friday,
the
same
day
that
Brazil
also
reported
its
first
death
from
monkeypox.

The
global
monkeypox
outbreak
has
seen
more
than
22,000
cases
in
nearly
80
countries
since
May.
There
have
been
75
suspected
deaths
in
Africa,
mostly
in
Nigeria
and
Congo,
where
a
more
lethal
form
of
monkeypox
is
spreading
than
in
the
West.

In
the
US
and
Europe,
the
vast
majority
of
monkeypox
infections
have
happened
in
men
who
have
sex
with
men,
though
health
officials
have
stressed
that
anyone
can
catch
the
virus.

The
deaths
outside
Africa
come
one
week
after
the
World
Health
Organisation
declared
the
monkeypox
outbreak
a
global
health
emergency.

“The
notification
of
deaths
due
to
monkeypox
does
not
change
our
assessment
of
the
outbreak
in
Europe.
We
know
that
although
the
disease
is
self-limiting
in
most
cases,
monkeypox
can
cause
severe
complications,”
said
Catherine
Smallwood,
Senior
Emergency
Officer
at
WHO
Europe.

“With
the
continued
spread
of
monkeypox
in
Europe,
we
will
expect
to
see
more
deaths.
Our
goal
needs
to
be
on
interrupting
transmission
quickly
in
Europe
and
stopping
this
outbreak,”
she
said.

On
Friday,
Spain’s
health
ministry
reported
4,298
people
were
infected
with
the
virus,
making
it
the
leading
European
country
for
monkeypox
cases.
Of
that
total,
some
3,500
cases
were
of
men
who
had
had
sex
with
other
men.
Only
64
were
women.

India’s
first
monkeypox
patient
recovers,
to
be
discharged

The
ministry
said
120
have
needed
hospital
attention.

Smallwood
said
around
8%
of
the
monkeypox
cases
in
Europe
have
required
hospitalisation.

Monkeypox
has
been
endemic
to
parts
of
Africa
for
decades.
Its
leap
to
Europe
and
North
America
was
linked
by
experts
to
two
raves
in
Belgium
and
Spain.

Spanish
health
authorities
are
administering
5,300
vaccines
that
Spain
received
from
the
joint
EU
vaccine
purchase
scheme.
Health
workers
say
that’s
far
fewer
than
the
number
needed
to
cover
the
at-risk
groups.

But
the
rush
to
buy
limited
vaccines
by
richer
Western
countries
is
putting
Africa
in
danger
of
being
left
out.

Monkeypox
spreads
mainly
through
skin-to-skin
contact,
but
it
can
also
be
transmitted
through
bed
sheets
used
by
someone
with
monkeypox.
Symptoms
include
fever,
body
aches,
chills,
fatigue
and
hives.
The
illness
has
been
relatively
mild
in
many
men.
But
people
can
be
contagious
for
weeks,
and
the
lesions
can
be
extremely
painful.