The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that it wanted to shed light, with the help of the UKon the cases of monkeypox detected in the country since the beginning of May, particularly in the homosexual community.
7 cases since May 6
Since May 6, seven cases of monkey pox (monkeypox) have been identified in the UK, including four cases in people identifying themselves as “gay, bisexual, or men who have sex with men”according to the British health security agency (UKHSA).
With the exception of the first case – the infected person had recently traveled to Nigeria, in West Africa where this viral disease is endemic -, the patients were infected in the United Kingdom, raising fears of transmission within the community. .
Cases transmitted following homosexual relations
“We are seeing transmissions among men who have sex with men”which is “a new piece of information that we need to study properly to better understand the dynamics” transmission,” said Ibrahima Socé Fall, WHO’s deputy director-general for emergency response in Geneva.
Referring to an additional case « probable », Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO official, said the organization was working “very closely with its regional office, the European Center for Disease Control and especially the British health security agency to assess each of these cases, the source of their infection” and proceed to a “case tracing”.
A cluster in London
In a statement on Monday, the UKHSA said it was trying to find a link between the four newly identified cases, all of which appear to have been infected in London.
The patients were admitted to infectious disease departments in different hospitals.
No treatment
There is no cure for monkeypox, which is spread by contact with an infected person or their body fluids, including saliva. This viral infection heals itself.
According to the UKHSA, the virus is not transmitted “not easily” between people and the risk to the population in the UK is ” weak “.
Fever, chills, headaches…
Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and fatigue. Rashes can occur, often on the face, and spread to other parts of the body including the genitals, before going through different phases, crusting over and falling off.
The UKHSA has called on people who are gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men to be “Watch for unusual rashes or lesions”.