Expert: Monkeypox probably spread by sex at 2 raves in Europe

LONDON (AP) — A leading adviser to the World Health Group described the unprecedented outbreak of monkeypox in developed nations as “a random event” that seems to have been caused by sexual activity at two recent raves in Europe.

Dr. David Heymann, who formerly headed WHO’s emergencies department, advised The Associated Press that the leading theory to explain the unfold of the illness was sexual transmission at raves held in Spain and Belgium. Monkeypox has not previously triggered widespread outbreaks beyond Africa, the place it is endemic in animals.

“We know monkeypox can unfold when there may be shut contact with the lesions of someone who is contaminated, and it seems to be like sexual contact has now amplified that transmission,” said Heymann.

That marks a major departure from the disease’s typical sample of spread in central and western Africa, the place people are mainly contaminated by animals like wild rodents and primates and outbreaks haven't spilled across borders.

Well being officers say a lot of the recognized cases in Europe have been among men who've intercourse with men, however anyone will be contaminated by shut contact with a sick individual, their clothes or bedsheets. Scientists say it will be tough to disentangle whether or not the unfold is being driven by intercourse or merely shut contact.

“By nature, sexual activity entails intimate contact, which one would anticipate to increase the probability of transmission, no matter a person’s sexual orientation and regardless of the mode of transmission,” mentioned Mike Skinner, a virologist at Imperial College London.

On Monday, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Director Andrea Ammon mentioned “the likelihood of additional spread of the virus by means of close contact, for example throughout sexual actions among persons with a number of sexual partners, is taken into account to be high.”

So far, WHO has recorded greater than 90 cases of monkeypox in a dozen nations together with Canada, Spain, Israel, France, Switzerland, the U.S. and Australia.

On Monday, Denmark announced its first case, Portugal revised its whole upwards to 37, Italy reported one further infection and Britain added 37 more instances.

U.S. well being officials stated Monday they knew of 1 confirmed case, in the state of Massachusetts, and 4 probable cases — two in Utah, one in Florida and one in New York City. All have been men who had traveled outside the U.S.

Germany has 4 confirmed cases linked to publicity at “celebration occasions ... the place sexual activity befell” in Spain’s Canary Islands and in Berlin, based on a government report to lawmakers obtained by the AP.

Madrid’s senior health official stated Monday that the Spanish capital had 30 confirmed instances. Enrique Ruiz Escudero mentioned authorities are investigating potential hyperlinks between a recent Gay Pleasure event in the Canary Islands, which drew some 80,000 folks, and cases at a Madrid sauna.

The monkeypox instances so far have been mild, with no deaths reported. Usually, the virus causes fever, chills, rash and lesions on the face or genitals. Most people get better within several weeks without requiring hospitalization.

Vaccines against smallpox, a associated disease, are effective in preventing monkeypox and a few antiviral drugs are being developed. In recent years, the illness has been fatal in as much as 6% of infections.

Heymann chaired an urgent assembly of WHO’s advisory group on infectious disease threats on Friday to evaluate the outbreak and stated there was no proof to recommend that monkeypox had mutated into a more infectious form.

The U.N. company mentioned the outbreak is “a extremely unusual event” and mentioned the truth that cases are being seen in so many various nations suggests the virus could have been silently spreading for some time. The agency’s Europe director warned that festivals and events might accelerate spread.

Still, at a public session on Monday, WHO officials described the outbreak as “containable” and cautioned towards stigmatizing affected teams, saying the illness can infect anyone.

The agency stated the cases appeared to be linked to a monkeypox virus that was first detected in exported cases from Nigeria to Britain, Israel and Singapore in 2018 and 2019.

Authorities in Britain, Spain and Portugal have said a lot of the instances recognized to this point had been in young males whose infections have been picked up after they sought help for lesions at sexual well being clinics.

Heymann, who is also a professor of infectious ailments on the London Faculty of Hygiene and Tropical Medication, mentioned the monkeypox outbreak was possible a random event that is likely to be traceable to a single infection.

“It’s very possible there was somebody who acquired contaminated, developed lesions on the genitals, palms or somewhere else, after which unfold it to others when there was sexual or close, physical contact,” Heymann hypothesized. “After which there were these worldwide occasions that seeded the outbreak around the world, into the U.S. and different European countries.”

He emphasised that the illness was unlikely to set off widespread transmission.

“This isn't COVID,” he said. “We need to sluggish it down, however it does not unfold in the air and we now have vaccines to protect in opposition to it.”

Heymann said research must be conducted quickly to determine if monkeypox may very well be unfold by folks without signs and that populations at risk of the illness ought to take precautions to guard themselves.

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Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, and Frank Jordans and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, contributed to this report.