Monkeypox Cases In Spain Reach 84 As Health Ministry Orders Vaccines
Health News
Published: 27 May 2022 14:17 CET
Spain’s Ministry of Health reported 25 new Monkeypox cases on Thursday bringing the total so far to 84.
The Ministry confirmed that the strain that has been detected in Spain is the West African strain which has a fatality rate of around 1%.
Of the Spanish cases, over 50 have been recorded in the Madrid region with most cases traced to an adult sauna which was closed last week.
The other cases are believed to have been reported in Gran Canaria on the Canary Islands and linked to a 10-day Gay Pride festival at the beginning of May which was attended by over 80,000 people.
It follows an announcement on Wednesday from the country’s Minister for Health Carolina Darias, who said that the country would be purchasing Monkeypox vaccines.
She said the government would be acquiring the Imvanex vaccine which is produced by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.CO) and the antiviral drug Tecovirimat, however, she did not stress just how many doses would be purchased.
"We are going to distribute the vaccine proportionally among the (17 Spanish regions)," Darias told a news conference in Madrid.
There is no specific treatment for Monkeypox, however, smallpox vaccines are said to be around 85% effective in preventing it.
The virus has so far been found in over 20 countries including the United Kingdom which has confirmed 90 cases. Spain’s neighbours Portugal also confirmed nine new infections on Thursday bringing their total to 58.
Portuguese authorities said they would also be considering purchasing vaccines through the EU scheme and would look at vaccination contacts of confirmed cases along with medical professionals.
Worldwide there have now been 200 confirmed cases with a further 100 suspected.
Most of the cases reported around the world so far have not been severe with very few people hospitalised.
Symptoms of Monkeypox include a high temperature, backache, headache, aching muscles, exhaustion and fever with symptoms taking between five and 21 days to appear.
A rash is also a common symptom which will typically start on the face and then spread to other parts of the body.
Source
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spains-monkeypox-case-tally-rises-84-health-ministry-says-2022-05-26/
https://www.euronews.com/2022/05/27/us-health-monkeypox-spain
Image Credit: @sanidadgob
