monkey pox. First deaths in Europe – state of emergency in New York.

In Spain, the first European deaths after a monkeypox infection have become known. Another possible death became known from Brazil. New York declared a state of emergency in response to the spread of monkeypox.

After the Spanish Ministry of Health announced the death of a patient infected with the monkeypox virus (MPXV) on Friday evening, a second death became known on Saturday. Both patients had been hospitalized with encephalitis caused by the infection.

The Health Ministry of the Region of Valencia announced on Friday evening that the patient’s death was “caused by infection-related encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). The case will be “analyzed to finally confirm the cause”. The regional newspaper “Levante” wrote on Saturday that it was a “man of about 40 years old” who was in the intensive care unit in a hospital in the city of Alicante.

Possibly previous illnesses

In Andalusia, the regional Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that the second fatality was a 31-year-old. He was admitted to the intensive care unit of the University Hospital in Córdoba with meningoencephalitis caused by the infection – which affects not only the brain but also the meninges.

The deaths could possibly be due to previous illnesses. However, it was unclear in both cases whether concomitant diseases were present. The newspaper “El País” wrote that the medical institute “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” in Madrid would examine tissue samples to better understand the cause of the deaths.

Spain is one of the countries most affected by the infectious disease in the world. The Ministry of Health announced that there were around 120 hospital admissions in the around 4,300 cases recorded so far.

Suspicious death also in Brazil

Brazil also reported its first possible monkeypox-related death on Friday. The Ministry of Health in Brasília said it was a patient with other diseases. The WHO had so far registered five deaths in the current monkeypox outbreak – all in Africa.

In view of the rapid spread of monkeypox, the WHO declared the highest alert level last weekend. The outbreak is an “emergency of international concern,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The international spread of the infectious disease is unusual. So far, it has essentially been limited to six African countries.

A state of emergency was declared in New York State due to the outbreak. “This action allows us to respond more quickly to the outbreak and take additional steps to vaccinate more New Yorkers,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement released on Friday. You have to “use every tool” to contain the virus and protect risk groups as well as possible.

272 cases in Switzerland

Among other things, contact tracing will be intensified and more health workers mobilized to administer vaccinations. In addition, the test capacities would be expanded. The state of emergency is valid until August 28th. On Friday, the state Department of Health reported 1,383 infections with the monkeypox virus, which are mainly concentrated in the metropolis of New York. This corresponds to about a quarter of the cases registered in the USA.

According to the most recent recording, there were almost 23,000 cases of monkeypox worldwide. The Europe region is particularly affected with more than 14,000 cases, 272 of which were in Switzerland by Friday.

Currently, the outbreak is largely focused on men who have sex with men. However, according to the health authority CDC, isolated cases in children have already been confirmed in the USA. Monkeypox infection can cause a rash, swollen lymph nodes, fever, chills, and muscle pain. The disease is usually not fatal.

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