Until July 12, 2022, in 35 countries and areas in the European region, a total of 8,238 cases of monkeypox have been reported to health authorities European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) respectively the World Health Organization (WHO), including 6,899 laboratory confirmed.
The earliest date of onset of symptoms was reported on April 3, 2022. The majority of cases were between 31 and 40 years old (2,890/6,892 – 42%) and were male (6,782/6,818 – 99.5%) . Of the cases with known HIV status, 43% (561/1,313) were HIV positive. The majority of cases presented with rash (3,505/3,683 – 95.2%) and systemic symptoms such as fever, fatigue, muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, sore throat or headache (2,346/3,683 – 64%) . 183 cases were hospitalized (10.2%), of which 98 required clinical care. Three cases were admitted to the intensive care unit. No cases were reported as deceased. Some (23) cases have been reported as healthcare workers, but further investigations are ongoing to determine if the infection was due to occupational exposure.
Until July 13, 2022 inclusive, 8 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in Luxembourg, which represents an increase of 2 cases since last week. No cases have been hospitalized so far.
The epidemiological and clinical characteristics of these cases are very similar to the cases reported at European level.
The health directorate reminds us that it is important to protect yourself against the virus and to avoid risky situations in order to limit the spread of the virus. Protective measures include washing hands regularly with soap, avoiding sharing bed linen and towels with infected people or those who have been in contact with infected people, and protecting yourself in case of sexual contact. .
Communicated by the Ministry of Health