Fler brittiska apkoppsfall – oklart om toppen är nådd

An ongoing outbreak of monkeypox was confirmed in May 2022, beginning with a cluster of cases found in the United Kingdom. The first recognised case was confirmed on 6 May 2022 in an individual with travel links to Nigeria (where the disease is endemic), but it has been suggested that cases were already spreading in Europe in the previous months. From 18 May onwards, cases were reported from an increasing number of countries and regions, predominantly in Europe, but also in North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. 1,352 cases had been confirmed as of 9 June.The outbreak marked the first time the disease has spread widely outside Central and West Africa. Cases have mainly but not exclusively been identified amongst men who have sex with men (MSM), but health authorities emphasized that anyone can catch the disease, particularly if they have close contact with a symptomatic person. Initial WHO assessments expressed the expectation of the outbreak to be contained, and of low impact to the general population in affected countries. A more recent statement acknowledged that undetected transmission had occurred for some time and called for urgent action to reduce transmission.Monkeypox is a viral infection that manifests a week or two after exposure with fever and other non-specific symptoms, and then produces a rash that can last for a couple of weeks before usually clearing up. In infections before the current outbreak, between one and three people out of a hundred known infections have died (without treatment). Cases in children are more likely to be severe.