Monkeypox Outbreak Explodes Across Europe

MONKEYPOX cases in Spain and Italy have been traced to an island festival attended by 80,000 revellers.

Cases of monkeypox in the UK have doubled in just a week after a total of 20 cases were reported.

And doctors warned that number will rise significantly as the virus spreads througfh Europe and as far as the US, Canada and Australia.

Spain now has the highest number of infections, outside places in Africa where the virus is endemic, with more than 50 known cases.

Now authorities are investigating a festival in Gran Canaria after it was linked with a number of cases in Madrid, Tenerife and Italy.

The Canaria Pride festival, held in the town of Maspalomas between May 5 and 15, has become a hotspot for the monkeypox outbreak, reports El País.

The massive party was attended by over 80,000 people, including three Italian men who later tested positive for the virus.

A health source told the newspaper: “Among the 30 or so diagnosed in Madrid, there are several who attended the event, although it is not yet possible to know if one of them is patient zero of this outbreak or if they all got infected there.”

Public health services are currently investigating whether there have been more infections during the celebrations including a suspected case detected in Tenerife.

The three Italians were admitted to the Spallanzani Institute of Infectious Diseases in Rome.

The centre’s director, Francesco Vaia said: “These are three young men who say they have not had contact with each other, although two of them do explain that they have recently travelled to the Canary Islands.”

Experts have warned that although monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease it could be passed on through skin-to-skin contact during sex.

Many known patients are gay men who were tested after going to STI clinics, the WHO said.

Health chiefs warned gay and bisexual men to be on the lookout for new unexplained rashes.