Friday 20 May 2022 01:10 PM WHO convenes emergency monkeypox meeting amid growing fears about international ... trends now

World Health Organization bosses will hold an emergency monkeypox amid growing fears about the international outbreak.

Eleven countries have now detected the tropical virus, which is usually only spotted within Africa.

Germany and Belgium today became the latest nations to declare monkeypox cases, while France and Australia announced patients had tested positive overnight.

Experts on the UN agency are set to discuss the unusually high rates among gay and bisexual men, it was claimed today.

The panelists, reported to include one of the WHO's most senior Covid advisers, will also deliberate how monkeypox vaccines should be dished out to control spiralling cases.

Britain's monkeypox outbreak doubled in size today, as Sajid Javid revealed another 11 Britons had tested positive for the virus.

The Health Secretary said that he had briefed 'G7 Health Ministers on what we know so far'.

No details about the new eleven patients have been released yet.

But six of the previous nine confirmed cases were in men who have sex with men — which officials say is 'highly suggestive of spread in sexual networks'.

Experts told MailOnline today vaccines could be given to gay men, if cases continue to disproportionally be in homosexual and bisexual males.

MailOnline yesterday revealed that health chiefs were stockpiling jabs amid growing fears about the tropical virus's spread. Ministers were already sitting on 5,000 doses but have now ordered an extra 20,000.

Close contacts of the UK's known cases are already being offered the jab, which was originally designed for smallpox. The two rash-causing viruses are very similar.

Eleven countries — including the US, Spain and Italy — have now detected monkeypox, in the first global outbreak of its kind

Nine Britons have been diagnosed with monkeypox and all but one of them appear to have contracted it in the UK. The original UK patient had brought the virus back from Nigeria, where the disease is widespread. At least three patients are receiving care at specialist NHS units in London and Newcastle. A further 11 cases of monkeypox are set to be announced today, doubling the size of the UK's outbreak

World Health Organization bosses will hold an emergency monkeypox amid growing fears about the international outbreak. Dr Mike Ryan, the WHO's executive director of health emergencies, is set to be in at the gathering of experts

MONKEYPOX: Strain 'spreads sexually' and is as deadly as the original Wuhan Covid variant - but a jab exists

What is monkeypox?

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection which people usually pick up in the tropical areas of west and central Africa.

It is usually spread through direct contact with animals such as squirrels, which are known to harbour the virus.

However, it can also be transmitted through very close contact with an infected person.

Monkeypox was first discovered when an outbreak of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research in 1958.

The first human case was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the infection has been reported in a number of central and western African countries since then.

Only a handful of cases have been reported outside of Africa until now and they were confined to people with travel links to the continent.

How deadly is it?

Monkeypox is usually mild, with most patients recovering within a few weeks without treatment. Yet, the disease can prove fatal.

However it can kill up to 10 per cent of people it infects.

The milder strain causing the current outbreak kills one in 100 — similar to when Covid first hit.

Monkeypox shuts down some aspects of your body's ability to fight infections.

Because of the presence of other viruses and bacteria which your body can't fight off, in the worst cases patients can succumb to a lethal shock throughout the body and blood poisoning.

Death is more likely to occur in younger patients. The skin lesions are painful and disfiguring, and can be the source of further infections.

Is there a cure?

Because monkeypox is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox, jabs for smallpox can also protect people from getting monkeypox.

One vaccine, Imvanex, was shown to be around 85 per cent effective in preventing monkeypox infection.

Antivirals and pooled blood from individuals vaccinated against smallpox can be used to treat severe cases.

How does it spread?

Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection by nature, though it can be passed on by direct contact during sex.

Contagious lesions, through which infections are most likely to be passed on, can appear on any part of the body.

The infection can also be passed on through contact with clothing or linens used by an infected person.

Until now, monkeypox had only ever been detected in four countries outside of Africa - the UK, US, Israel and Singapore.

And all of those cases had travel links to Nigeria and Ghana.

Are gay men at greater risk?

Most of the British and Spanish cases are gay or bisexual men, which officials say is 'highly suggestive of spread in sexual networks'.

The sexuality of patients in other countries has not been disclosed.

Health chiefs in the UK have issued a direct plea to men who have sex with men, telling them to come forward if they develop a rash on their face or genitals.

What are the symptoms?

Initial symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.

But its most unusual feature is a rash that often begins on the face, then spreads to other parts of the body, commonly the genitals, hands or feet.

The rash changes and goes through different stages before finally forming a scab, which later falls off.

What do I do if I have symptoms?

Anyone worried that they could be infected with monkeypox is advised to make contact with clinics ahead of their visit.

Health chiefs say their call or discussion will be treated sensitively and confidentially.

Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, said he 'could see a role' for a targeted jab rollout 'if this isn't brought under control quickly'.

A health source told MailOnline 'there would be a number of strategies we'd look at' if cases continued to rise.

Dr Mike Ryan, the WHO's executive director of health emergencies, is set to be in at the gathering of experts, The Telegraph reported.

The newspaper claimed the meeting will discuss the benefits of ring vaccination — the strategy already deployed in the UK.

Eleven countries — including the US, Spain and Italy — have now detected monkeypox, in the first global outbreak of its kind.

Spain this morning reported 14 new confirmed cases, bringing the nation's total to 21.

And Belgium detected two cases, one in Antwerp and the other in Flemish Brabant.

Germany subsequently confirmed its first ever monkeypox case in a patient who had 'characteristic skin lesions' — a tell-tale sign of the illness.

France last night confirmed a 29-year-old man in Paris had contracted the virus. He had not recently travelled, suggesting the virus is spreading in the community.

Meanwhile, Australia last night confirmed two cases, including one man in his thirties who had travelled from Britain to Melbourne with symptoms earlier this week.

The outbreak has been described as 'unusual' by experts because person-to-person transmission of monkeypox was thought to be extremely rare.

Before May, the UK had only ever seen seven cases of the virus, which is endemic in West Africa.

It is usually spread through handling infected animals, either through their lesions, blood, bodily fluids or eating poorly cooked meat.

But it was known that it could be passed on between humans through close contact with the likes of body fluids, respiratory droplets and lesions.

This is why experts think the virus is passing

Related posts

sport news Italy legend Fabio Cannavaro lands first Serie A coaching job after 14 months ... trends now

Vicky Pattison is BANNED from flying to dream wedding venue in Italy as she ... trends now

sport news Italy boss Luciano Spalletti makes emotional return to Napoli for the first ... trends now

The staggering prize money MasterChef winners in Italy, Australia and Canada ... trends now