In recent days, cases of smallpox infection of monkeys have been identified in the UK, Portugal and Spain.
The Department of Health of the U.S. state of Massachusetts reported the first case of infection with smallpox monkeys in the United States in 2022.
“The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed one case of monkeypox infection in an adult male who recently visited Canada,” the department said in a statement.
According to him, the initial testing was completed on Tuesday evening, and the confirmation test was done on Wednesday. The man was hospitalized.
As noted in the message, this case of infection does not pose a danger to society. In 2021, in the states of Texas and Maryland, the virus was detected in people who returned from Nigeria.
In recent days, cases of smallpox infection of monkeys have been detected in the UK, Portugal and Spain.
The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that monkey pox is a rare viral disease that occurs mainly in remote areas in central and western Africa, located near tropical rainforests. According to WHO, this virus is transmitted to humans from wild animals, such as rodents and primates, and its secondary spread through human-to-human transmission is limited. Usually, the mortality rate in outbreaks of smallpox monkeys ranges from 1% to 10%, while the majority of deaths occur in younger age groups, the organization clarifies. There is no specific treatment or vaccine for smallpox in monkeys, but previous vaccination against smallpox provides highly effective prevention of this disease.
