As the world continues to emerge from the wide-ranging impacts of COVID-19, a case of the rare and potentially dangerous monkeypox has now been confirmed in the United States after some infections were reported across Europe. In the US, the monkeypox was confirmed in a man in Massachusetts who had recently travelled to Canada, said the officials in the state earlier on Wednesday. The patient is now hospitalised and is in stable condition after being in an airborne infection isolation room since last Thursday.
"This patient, fortunately, is doing quite well now, although did have, have symptoms that require the hospitalization," Dr Erica Shenoy said, as per CNN. However, Biddinger said that they are not sure how the man was infected but averred that “historically, this has been a very rare disease, with very rare transmission around the world. What we have seen in the United Kingdom, in Spain and in Europe, has been novel and that gives us cause for concern, but, I think appropriately, people should not be afraid of monkeypox right now."
Which countries have reported Monkeypox cases?
The UK notified the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 13 that the country had confirmed at least two laboratory cases and one probable vase of monkeypox. All three cases were among the members of the same family.
READ | Monkeypox Virus: Symptoms, causes, treatment, prevention and other details
According to the United Nations (UN) health body, the probable case is also epidemiologically linked to the two confirmed cases and has fully recovered. The first case identified in the UK developed a rash on May 5 and was admitted on May 6. The case was ultimately confirmed to be monkeypox, the first in the UK, on May 12.
READ | 2 more cases of monkeypox virus confirmed in England
Now, there are a total of seven cases in London and northeastern England, only one of which was linked to travel outside of the country, health officials said. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has stated that current evidence hints that the rare disease may now be spreading in the local community.
READ | Gay men asked to be alert as monkeypox cases rise to 7 in UK
Meanwhile, WHO noted that the West African clade of monkeypox was identified in the two confirmed cases using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) on vesicle swabs on May 12 and 13 May. On May 15, WHO was notified of four additional laboratory-confirmed cases in the Western African clade of the monkeypox virus.
READ | Portugal finds 5 monkeypox cases in men as outbreak spreads
With the US confirming its first case of monkeypox on May 18, the American officials have also warned that the spread of the pathogen could potentially
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