Belgium has become the first country to introduce a 21-day quarantine for monkeypox patients as cases spread across the globe.
, said they have noted a particular concentration of cases among men who have sex with men, and urged gay and bisexual men in particular to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions.reported there were 92 cases in 12 countries, and a further 28 suspected cases under investigation. The U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal and Netherlands have all confirmed cases.
The public health body said recent reported cases had no links to travel from endemic African countries, which is unusual for the disease. It usually spreads via human-to-human or human-to-animal contact. "Epidemiological investigations are ongoing, however, reported cases thus far have no established travel links to endemic areas," the WHO said in a"Based on currently available information, cases have mainly but not exclusively been identified amongst men who have sex with men seeking care in primary care and sexual health clinics," it added.The recent surge in community cases, particularly within urban areas, is now raising concerns of a wider outbreak.
"To have it appear now — more than 100 cases in 12 different countries with no obvious connection — means we have to figure out exactly what's happening," Seth Berkley, CEO of global vaccine alliance Gavi, told CNBC Monday. "The truth is we don't know what that is and therefore how severe it's going to be. But it's likely that we're going to see more cases," he said.
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