Madrid – A man has died of monkeypox in Spain. It is the first known death from the disease in Europe.
The Ministry of Health in Madrid confirmed the death on Friday evening without giving details of gender or age. The latest monkeypox report said there were 4,208 confirmed cases in Spain. This puts the country in second place worldwide behind the USA (4907 confirmed cases). According to local media reports, the infected are between seven months and 88 years old.
Brazil had already reported a death from monkeypox before Spain on Friday. It was the first case outside of Africa. However, the Brazilian Ministry of Health said at a press conference that it was a patient with other relevant comorbidities (one or more disorders or diseases in addition to monkeypox). The case is still under review.
In Germany, the Robert Koch Institute recorded 2,410 cases of monkeypox in the middle of the week. According to the RKI, according to current knowledge, in the vast majority of cases men who have had sexual contact with other men are ill. Women were only affected in five cases, and no cases were reported in children.
A man is vaccinated against monkeypox by a doctor at a medical center
Monkeypox is a viral infection that is usually mild. Symptoms include fever, headache, and skin rashes, which usually start on the face and spread to the rest of the body. The disease has been spreading worldwide since early May 2022.
In the current year, more than 16,000 cases from more than 75 countries have been reported. In the past, the disease was mainly found in West and Central Africa. Recently, however, monkeypox has also been increasingly reported from Europe.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently said that the rapid spread of the disease could be stopped. This is possible with the right strategies in the right groups. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared a global health emergency on Saturday, the WHO’s highest alert level. So far, the United Nations (UN) organization had only classified the corona pandemic and polio as international health emergencies.