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Monkeypox news – live: Virus fears in Canary Islands as British tourist tested



WHO doctor explains how monkeypox spread among humans

Health chiefs in the Canary Islands have confirmed a British tourist is among five suspect new monkeypox cases currently being analysed, sparking fears in the holiday region.

A spokesman for the Canary Islands’ Health Service confirmed in a short statement: “A suspected case of monkeypox in Fuerteventura corresponds to a British tourist.”

Authorities have not said if he is holidaying alone on the island or is relaxing with relatives who are also being tested.

Spain has so far confirmed around 40 cases of monkeypox and said another 67 people are being tested.

The outbreaks have been traced to a gay sauna in Madrid and a Gran Canaria pride festival attended by 80,000 people from Britain and other European countries.

There have been more than 100 confirmed or suspected monkeypox infections around the world in the current outbreak, which have mostly been in Europe.

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NEW: Monkeypox fears hit Canary Islands as British tourist tested for virus on Fuenteventura

A British tourist visiting Fuenteventura in the Canary Islands is feared to have monkeypox. Health chiefs in the holiday isle are currently looking into five suspected cases of the virus.

A spokesman for the Canary Islands’ Health Service said in a short statement: “A suspected case of monkeypox in Fuerteventura corresponds to a British tourist.”

Spain has so far confirmed around 40 cases of monkeypox and said another 67 people are being tested.

Thomas Kingsley24 May 2022 07:46

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How is monkeypox different from chickenpox?

As further cases of monkeypox are announced across the world, concern continues to mount over the spread of the disease.

Many of the symptoms of the illness appear initially similar to chickenpox. However, there are several key differences between the two.

First, the diseases are caused by different viruses. Monkeypox is an orthopoxvirus, while chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which also causes shingles.

Thomas Kingsley24 May 2022 07:20

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‘Covid pandemic fuelling monkeypox fears’

Fears surrounding monkeypox are fuelled by the Covid-19 pandemic, a psychiatrist said.

“Everyone has been so intimately intertwined with the pandemic that something new coming on is frightening for a lot of people, and so they just don’t really know what to think,” Dr Sashalee Stewart, the Medical Director of Avance Care Psychiatry, told Queen City News.

“When something new comes along, there is going to be that thought in the back of the mind, ‘What if this is similar to that and if this affects me in that way?”

Namita Singh24 May 2022 06:55

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WHO says no evidence monkeypox virus has mutated

The World Health Organization does not have evidence that the monkeypox virus has mutated, a senior executive at the UN agency said on Monday, noting the infectious disease, that had previously been endemic to west and central Africa, has tended not to change.

Rosamund Lewis, head of the smallpox secretariat that is part of the WHO Emergencies Programme, told a briefing that mutations tended to be typically lower with this virus, although genome sequencing of cases will help inform understanding of the current outbreak.

The apex global health agency also does not believe that the outbreak outside of Africa requires mass vaccinations as measures like good hygiene and safe sexual behaviour will help control its spread.

Richard Pebody, who leads the high-threat pathogen team at WHO Europe, said immediate supplies of vaccines and antivirals are relatively limited.

Namita Singh24 May 2022 06:40

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ICYMI: UN criticises ‘homophobic’ reporting of monkeypox outbreak

The UN has warned against news reports that enable “homophobic” and “racist” stereotypes over the recent monkeypox outbreak, in a call for more sensitive coverage.

Evidence has shown people are most at risk of contracting monkeypox after having close physical contact with someone who has the disease.

This is not limited to the male LGBT+ community, the UN Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids) has said in a statement, citing the World Health Organisation (WHO), adding that some reports of the global outbreak could “reinforce homophobic and racist stereotypes and exacerbate stigma”.

Read the details in this report by Arpan Rai:

Namita Singh24 May 2022 06:25

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Monkeypox in the US: Where is the disease and will it spread?

The United States now has five presumed cases of Monkeypox after patients in Florida and Utah were suspected of contracting the disease.

Health officials in Salt Lake County said on Monday that two adults who had recently returned from international travel were isolating after showing symptoms of the infectious disease.

On Sunday, a “presumptive” case was also detected in a patient in Broward County, Florida.

A New York City patient tested positive for a virus related to the infection on Friday – two days after a man in Massachusetts became the first confirmed case in the country this year.

Read the details in this joint report by Gino Spocchia and Rachel Sharp:

Namita Singh24 May 2022 06:08

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Monkeypox outbreak ‘may have been sparked by sex at raves’

Calling the unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox in developed countries a “random event”, a leading adviser to the World Health Organisation said it might have been sparked by sexual behaviour at raves.

“We know monkeypox can spread when there is close contact with the lesions of someone who is infected, and it looks like sexual contact has now amplified that transmission,” said Dr David Heymann, chair of the WHO’s Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Infectious Hazards with Pandemic and Epidemic Potential.

Test tubes labelled ‘Monkeypox virus positive’ are seen in this illustration taken 22 May 2022

(Reuters)

That marks a significant departure from the disease’s typical pattern of spread in central and western Africa, where people are mainly infected by animals like wild rodents and primates and outbreaks have not spilled across borders.

Namita Singh24 May 2022 05:45

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‘Keep an eye’ on monkeypox, warns PM

Boris Johnson has said monkeypox is a rare disease but it is important to “keep an eye on it”.

The prime minister told reporters in London: “It’s basically a very rare disease and so far the consequences don’t seem to be very serious, but it’s important that we keep an eye on it and that’s exactly what the new UK Health Security Agency is doing.”

Asked whether there should be a quarantine for visitors or the use of the smallpox vaccine, Mr Johnson said: “As things stand the judgment is that it’s rare.



I think we’re looking very carefully at the circumstances of transmission. It hasn’t yet proved fatal in any case that we know of, certainly not in this country.

Boris Johnson

Meanwhile, Downing Street said there are no plans to hold a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee over monkeypox or to impose any travel bans.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at at 10 Downing Street on 23 May 2022 in London, England

(Getty Images)

The prime minister’s official spokesman said that while vaccines are being offered to close contacts, there are no plans for an “at scale” vaccination programme.

Namita Singh24 May 2022 05:18

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ICYMI: What are monkeypox symptoms and how does it spread?

Monkeypox, a rare tropical disease spread by wild animals in Africa, has unexpectedly spread abroad this month, posing questions about what precisely it is and how dangerous it might be.

A relatively mild viral infection, the disease has a six-to-16 day incubation period and sees patients first suffer fever, headaches, swellings, back pain, aching muscles and a general listlessness in its opening stages.

Once that passes and the fever breaks, the sufferer will experience a skin eruption, in which a rash spreads across the face, followed by the rest of the body, most commonly the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

The blemishes evolve from lesions into crusted blisters, which can then take three weeks to heal and disappear. While it would have initially been transmitted to humans by contact with the blood or bodily fluids of contaminated primates, or via intermediary rodents such as tree squirrels and Gambian rats, it is much more likely to be caught from fellow humans.



Because the virus spreads through close contact, we are urging everyone to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact a sexual health service if they have any symptoms.

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UKHSA

Namita Singh24 May 2022 05:11

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Experts warn against ‘misinformation, stigma and discrimination’ surrounding monkeypox

The WHO has warned against “misinformation, stigma and discrimination” around monkeypox.

Speaking during a question and answer session, Andy Seale, strategic adviser with the WHO’s HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections programme, said: “There are ways that we can work with communities to learn from really decades of experience around tackling stigma and discrimination with HIV. We want to apply that lesson, those lessons learned, to this experience.”

A child affected by monkeypox receiving treatment in Zomea Kaka, in the Lobaya region, in the Central African Republic on 18 October 2018

(AFP via Getty Images)

Namita Singh24 May 2022 04:59



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