The number of confirmed cases of monkey pox in the world was 219 on Wednesday, not counting the countries where the disease is endemic, according to a balance of a health agency of the European Union (EU).
In total, 19 countries where the disease is not common, most of them European, have reported at least one confirmed case, indicates the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in an epidemiological note released on Wednesday night.
“The majority of cases are young men, identifying themselves as men having sex with men. There are no deaths,” says the European agency based in Stockholm.
Out of the 11 African countries where the disease is endemic, three countries currently have the majority of confirmed cases: United Kingdom (71), the first country where unusual cases were detected in early May, Spain (51) and Portugal (37), according to the ECDC.
Europe concentrates the majority of cases with 191, of which 118 are located in EU countries. Canada (fifteen), USA (9), Australia (two), Israel (1) and United Arab Emirates (1) are non-European countries with cases.
Suspected but unconfirmed cases were not included in the balance.
The total number of cases registered by the ECDC has almost quintupled since its first report on May 20, in which the agency noted 38 cases.
On Monday, in its first risk assessment, the ECDC considered the probability of contagion in the general population to be “very low” but that it was “high” in people with multiple sexual partners.
The same day, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed an “atypical” situation but judged it possible to stop the transmission of the disease between humans.
The disease, less dangerous than smallpox eradicated for about 40 years, is endemic in 11 countries of West and Central Africa.
It usually results in a strong fever and quickly evolves into a skin rash with crusting.
Infection in early cases is due to direct contact with blood, body fluids, skin lesions, or mucous membranes of infected animals. According to the WHO, symptoms last between 14 and 21 days.