2022–2023 mpox outbreak in Spain explained

Disease:Mpox
Location:Spain
First Case:Madrid[1]
Arrival Date: (ago)
Suspected Cases:0
Hospitalized Cases:155
Deaths:2

The 2022–2023 mpox outbreak in Spain is a part of the outbreak of human mpox caused by the West African clade of the monkeypox virus. Spain was the second country outside the African countries with endemic mpox, to experience an outbreak in 2022. The outbreak was first reported in Spain on 18 May 2022.[1]

Background

An ongoing outbreak of mpox was confirmed on 6 May 2022, beginning with a British resident who, after travelling to Nigeria (where the disease is endemic), presented symptoms consistent with mpox on 29 April 2022. The resident returned to the United Kingdom on 4 May, creating the country's index case of the outbreak.[2] The origin of several of the cases of mpox in the United Kingdom is unknown. Some monitors saw community transmission taking place in the London area as of mid-May,[3] but it has been suggested that cases were already spreading in Europe in the previous months.[4]

Transmission

A large portion of those infected were believed to have not recently traveled to areas of Africa where mpox is normally found, such as Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as central and western Africa. It is believed to be transmitted by close contact with sick people, with extra caution for those individuals with lesions on their skin or genitals, along with their bedding and clothing. The CDC has also stated that individuals should avoid contact and consumption of dead animals such as rats, squirrels, monkeys and apes along with wild game or lotions derived from animals in Africa.[5]

In addition to more common symptoms, such as fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and rashes or lesions, some patients have also experienced proctitis, an inflammation of the rectum lining. CDC has also warned clinicians to not rule out mpox in patients with sexually transmitted infections since there have been reports of co-infections with syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and herpes.[6]

History

On 18 May 2022, the Community of Madrid regional government reported the first eight suspected cases of mpox, and seven of them were confirmed by the Ministry of Health on 20 May.[1]

On 20 May, the health authorities of Madrid closed the gay sauna Paraíso, which was under investigation as a possible high transmission point in Madrid.[7] [8] The sauna reopened again on 9 June after receiving an authorization from the regional health department.[9] [10]

Outbreak characteristics

According to the Community of Madrid regional government on 6 June 2022, all cases in the region were men, except one woman who is cohabitant with one of the infected men. The most likely contagion event for most was sexual relations with strangers, usually at parties in private residences, a sauna, or the gay pride event at Maspalomas, Canary Islands. 48% of cases were also HIV-positive.[11]

On 10 June, the Ministry of Health disclosed that out of a sample of 78 cases, 21 had a previous smallpox vaccine dose.[12]

On 26 August, the Ministry of Health published additional data about 6,459 cases. 6,334 of them were men, and 125 were women. Age ranged between 7 months and 88 years, with a median age of 37 years. Out of 5,198 cases with recorded data, 5,022 were men who have sex with men. Out of 3,700 cases with recorded data, 92,6% had prolonged intimate contact during sexual relation as the most likely transmission mechanism.[13]

LGBT stigmatization

Several experts have raised concerns about stigmatization of LGBT people in connection to the mpox outbreak.[14]

In June 2022, the public prosecutor of Valencia opened an investigation of a publication about the mpox outbreak by the far-right political party España 2000, which could constitute hate speech against the LGBT community.[15]

Cases per region

Mpox cases in Spain per autonomous community
CommunityConfirmedSuspectedAs ofRef.
Andalusia68596[16]
Aragon53
Asturias53
Balearic Islands134
Canary Islands136
Cantabria27
Castilla–La Mancha42
Castile and León54
Catalonia1,782
Ceuta
Valencian Community353
Extremadura22
Galicia83
Community of Madrid2,169[17]
Melilla
Murcia33
Navarre13
Basque Country162
La Rioja4
Total

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Casos de viruela del mono en España y en el mundo, estadísticas y gráficos . epdata. https://web.archive.org/web/20220602044507/https://www.epdata.es/datos/viruela-mono-espana-mundo-datos-graficos/662. 2 June 2022. live. es.
  2. Web site: 16 May 2022 . Monkeypox – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220517223855/https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON381 . 17 May 2022 . 17 May 2022 . World Health Organization.
  3. Web site: Pinkstone . Joe . 17 May 2022 . Monkeypox 'spreading in sexual networks' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220517223851/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/17/monkeypox-likely-sexually-transmissible-infection-health-officials/ . 17 May 2022 . 17 May 2022 . The Telegraph.
  4. Web site: Nsofor . Ifeanyi . 2 June 2022 . OPINION: Media coverage of monkeypox paints it as an African virus. That makes me mad . 2 June 2022 . NPR.
  5. Web site: Vargas . Ramon Antonio . 2022-06-07 . US raises monkeypox alert level but says risk to public remains low . 2022-06-09 . the Guardian . en.
  6. Web site: Monkeypox update: Where the outbreak stands now .
  7. News: Madrid estudia si hay vínculo entre los casos de viruela del mono de la capital y Canarias. RTVE. 22 May 2022. es.
  8. News: Alfredo. Pascual. Así es la sauna Paraíso, foco del brote de viruela del mono en Madrid. El Confidencial. 21 May 2022. es.
  9. News: La sauna 'Paraíso' niega "cualquier responsabilidad sobre el foco de infección de la viruela del mono" en Madrid. La Vanguardia. Servimedia. 8 June 2022. es.
  10. News: Álvaro. Soto. Reabre la sauna Paraíso, foco de la viruela del mono en Madrid. La Voz de Galicia. 8 June 2022. es.
  11. News: La mayoría de los contagiados con la viruela del mono mantuvo relaciones con desconocidos. A majority of monkeypox infected had relations with strangers. La Vanguardia. 7 June 2022. es.
  12. Web site: Alerta sobre infección de viruela de los monos en España y otros países no endémicos. Ministry of Health. 10 June 2022. es.
  13. Web site: Alerta Monkeypox . 29 August 2022 . 29 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220829081504/http://www.mscbs.es/profesionales/saludPublica/ccayes/alertasActual/alertaMonkeypox/docs/Informe_de_situacion_MPX_20220826.pdf . dead .
  14. News: Natalia G.. Vargas. La viruela del mono y el uso de la salud como gasolina para la discriminación . Canariasahora . 25 May 2022. es.
  15. News: La Fiscalía investiga por delito de odio unas publicaciones sobre el colectivo LGTBI y la viruela del mono. ABC. 10 June 2022. es.
  16. News: Andalucía registra 332 casos activos de viruela del mono, con 96 en investigación, y suma ya 319 personas vacunadas. europapress. 12 August 2022. es.
  17. News: La Comunidad de Madrid detecta 2.169 casos de viruela del mono y supera las 1.900 dosis de vacuna administradas. europapress. 12 August 2022. es.