France, Germany Report First Cases Of Monkeypox
Paris: France and Germany on Friday reported their first cases of monkeypox, joining a number of other European and North American nations in detecting the disease endemic in parts of Africa.
Monkeypox was identified in a 29-year-old man in the Ile-de-France region, including Paris, who had not recently returned from a country where the virus is circulating, France’s health authorities said Friday.
Viruses are the smallest particles that can be classified as living. Many a time physical barriers may not stop them and an extremely small number of particles are needed to transmit viruses from one organism to another. Monkeypox can be spread by touch/contact with body secretions of infected animals/humans and hence it is transmitted fast.
Separately, the German armed forces’ microbiology institute said it has confirmed the virus in a patient who developed skin lesions- a symptom of the disease.
With the growing number of detected cases in several European countries, Germany’s health agency Robert Koch Institute has urged people returning from West Africa, and in particular gay men, to see their doctors quickly if they notice any changes in their skin.
The rare disease — which is not usually fatal — often manifests itself through fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, and a chickenpox-like rash on the hands and face.
The virus can be transmitted through contact with skin lesions and droplets of a contaminated person and through shared items such as bedding and towels.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it was looking closely at the issue and in particular that some of the cases in the UK appeared to have been transmitted within the gay community.
Cases of monkeypox have also been detected in Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden as well as in the United States and Canada, leading to fears that the disease — typically concentrated in Central and West Africa — may be spreading.
Monkeypox Cases: Monkeypox was identified in a 29-year-old man in the Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris, who had not recently returned from a country where the virus is circulating, France’s health authorities said Friday.
