It’s the most widespread outbreak of the disease yet.
Spain, Portugal, Canada and England have recorded most of the cases. In the United States, one person each in Massachusetts, California and New York City and two in Utah have been confirmed to have monkeypox, and four others are confirmed to haveinfections, the genus that includes monkeypox and smallpox. Those cases — one in New York City and Washington state and two in Florida — are presumed to be monkeypox and are undergoing confirmation at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“There’s no need for panic. There’s no need for fear, and there’s no need to stigmatize anyone who has this disease,” Adesola Yinka-Ogunleye, an epidemiologist at the Institute for Global Health at University College London and a monkeypox expert with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.Monkeypox is a DNA virus in thegenus, which includes smallpox, cowpox and camelpox. It is not a new disease, says Yinka-Ogunleye. The virus was first discovered in monkeys in 1958.
Pustules, such as these seen on a person’s hands and face, are a hallmark of monkeypox. Infectious virus is released from these lesions and can spread to others.Since 2017, Nigeria has had sporadic cases of monkeypox, mostly in urban areas, she says. The country has had 46 cases in 2022 as of April 30.
“Our virus definitely comes from Portugal,” says Philippe Selhorst, a virologist at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, who posted theto Virological.org on May 20. The DNA sequence of the virus is very similar to ones from Portugal. The patient had traveled to Lisbon shortly before developing a rash, further solidifying the link.
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