New Delhi: The United States has officially confirmed its first monkeypox virus infection in a man who had recently traveled to Canada after parts of Europe including Spain and Portugal reported outbreak. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Wednesday said the infected man has recently travelled to Canada, reported news agency Reuters. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its labs confirmed the infection to be monkeypox.
The state agency is closely in contact with CDC and relevant local boards of health for contact tracing. “The case poses no risk to the public, and the individual is hospitalised and in good condition,” noted the agency.
ALSO READ: What Is Hypertension? Here Are 4 Breathing Exercises To Manage High Blood Pressure Naturally
The Massachusetts agency said no cases of monkeypox had previously been identified in the US this year. In 2021, Texas and Maryland each reported a case in people with travel history to Nigeria.
Infections rise in Europe
Meanwhile Spain and Portugal have reported over 40 suspected cases of monkeypox, a viral infection rarely seen in Europe amid outbreaks majorly in the Madrid and Lisbon areas, officials said on Wednesday, according to the AP report.
The reporting came days after the British health authorities detected seven cases so far in May as the World Health Organisation is investigate the outbreak with the government help. Health authorities in the Madrid region informed about detecting "23 possible cases of monkeypox", indicating all of them were believed to have been transmitted through sexual activity.
"In general, its transmission is via respiratory drops but the characteristics of the 23 suspected infections point to it being passed on through bodily fluids during sex relations," the statement said, without giving further details.
Health officials have noted some of these infections may be through sexual contact , in this instance among gay or bisexual men , which would be a new development in understanding how the virus is transmitted.
Another 20 suspected cases of the infection monkeypox, endemic in parts of Central and Western Africa, have been detected in the Lisbon region, according to Portugal's health ministry.
Monkeypox is a rare zoonotic disease (infectious disease that is transmitted between species from animals to humans or from humans to animals) caused by infection with monkeypox virus, and does not spread easily between people. Most people recover from monkeypox within a few weeks as it is usually a mild self-limiting illness. However, some individuals can suffer from severe illness.