First local cases of new monkeypox confirmed in Europe
To date, cases reported outside of Africa have involved people who had traveled there, but these two cases They have already caught it in Europe.
As it became known, two infected they live in the same house and a third person was identified as someone who tested positive for monkeypox after traveling to Africa.
Thus, infection has already occurred within European borders. The WHO recalled that “monkeypox spreads between people mainly through close physical contactincluding sexual contact. Contact with items contaminated with the virus, such as bedding or clothing, is also possible, and airborne spread to people in close contact is also possible under certain circumstances, but the latter is not considered a common mode of transmission.
A new strain of monkeypox caused an international health emergency to be declared a few months ago due to an outbreak in Africa.
As was already noted then, the new option was more deadly and contagiousbut so far no infection has occurred outside the African continent.
Although these two cases once again caused alarm.experts called for calm and they assured that at the moment The risk of mass infection in Europe is low.
The WHO has now called on European countries to strengthen surveillance to ensure early detection of levels of circulation of this new strain and to be able to anticipate responses if necessary.
Spain is the country in Europe with the most infections since 2022, when the outbreak broke out in Africa, but there is a vaccine and health care protocol to minimize risk.
It is recommended to vaccinate people engaging in risky sexual practices, laboratory workers with contaminated samples, as well as health workers in specialized consultations and those traveling to risk areas.
Likewise recommended vaccine close the contacts of the infected person.
And in order for protection to be optimal, the Ministry of Health insists on the importance complete the 2-dose regimen.