A leading World Health Organization adviser described the unprecedented outbreak of rare monkeypox in developed countries asor an “incidental event” which may be due to dangerous intercourse in two recently large parties in Europe.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Dr. David Heymann, a former director of the WHO emergency department, whose leading theory to explain the spread of the disease is that intercourse between gay and bisexual men in two parties took place. in Spain and Belgium.

Monkeypox has not caused large outbreaks in the past outside of Africa, where it is endemic to animals.

“We know that monkeypox can be spread when there is close contact with the wounds of an infected person, and now it appears that Intercourse amplified that delivery” Heyman pointed out.

That is a significant change In respect of common pattern of contagion of the virus in central and west Africa, where humans are primarily infected of animals such as primates and wild rodentsand no outbreaks spread across the borders.

So far the WHO has recorded more than 90 cases of monkeypox a dozen countries, such as Great Britain, Spain, Israel, France, Switzerland, the United States and Australia.

A suspected case was seen in Argentina.

Health authorities in Madrid noted that the Spanish capital was registered 30 confirmed cases So far. Regional councilor for Health, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, indicated possible links between a recent work by Pride in the Canary Islands which they attended 80,000 people Y a sauna in Madrid.

Heymann on Friday led an urgent meeting of the WHO advisory committee on infectious disease threats to assess the epidemic, noting that there was no evidence to suggest the virus could have dissolved in one form. more contagious.

Symptoms and contagionthe

Common cause of monkeypox fever, chills, rash, and sores on the face or genitals. It can be spread through close contact with an infected person, your clothes or your blanketsalthough sexual transmission has not been documented.

Most people recover from the disease within a few weeks without the need for hospitalization. Vaccines against smallpox, a related disease, is also effective to prevent monkeypox, and taking antiviral drugs.

The disease can be fatal in approximately 6% of infections, but in the current outbreak no deaths were reported.

WHO says the outbreak is “atypical” and said that the fact that cases are seen in so many different countries suggests that the disease may rotate unnoticed for a while. The director of the agency in Europe warns that with the arrival of summer on the continent, large events, celebrations and parties could accelerate its spread.

Other scientists have pointed out that it can be difficult to tell if it is the gender itself or not close contact associated with sex which pushed recent monkeypox infections in Europe.

“In its nature, Sexual activity involves intimate contactsomething one would expect to increase the likelihood of transmission, regardless of a person’s sexual orientation and regardless of the mode of transmission, ’’ said Mike Skinner, a virologist at Imperial College London.

The chief medical adviser to the British Social Security Agency, Dr. Susan Hopkins, said she expects new cases of monkeypox to be identified in the country. “everyday”.

British authorities said there was ‘a striking proportion’ of cases in Britain and Europe young men with no history of travel to Africa and gays, bisexuals, or had sex with men.

Authorities in Portugal and Spain also said their patients were men who had typically had sex with men and identified infections when they went to sexual health clinics to seek help for their injuries.

Heymann, who is also a professor of infectious diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the outbreak was most likely a chance to happen. track back to a particular infection.

“It’s not covid”the

“It’s quite possible that someone was infected, had sores on their genitals, hands or elsewhere, and then it spread to others when there was sexual or close physical contact,” he said. Heymann. “And then there were international events. That caused outbreaks around the world, in the United States and other European countries ”.

He noted that the disease is unlikely to cause widespread infection.

“It’s not COVID”, said. “We have to stop, but does not spread in the air Y we have vaccines protecting against him ”.

Heymann said studies should be done quickly to determine if monkeypox can be spread through people without symptoms, noting that the population at risk should be careful to protect yourself.

The author is an Associated Press journalist.

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