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She said urgent investigation of the new cases was important as "they could suggest a novel means of spread or a change in the virus, but this is all to be determined". But it also protects against monkeypox, and so the winding down of vaccination campaigns has led to a jump in monkeypox cases in areas where the disease is endemic, according to Anne Rimoin, an epidemiology professor at UCLA in California. Smallpox was eradicated by vaccination in 1980, and the shot has since been phased out. Monkeypox puts virologists on the alert because it is in the smallpox family, although it causes less serious illness.
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"My working theory would be that there's a lot of it about in west and central Africa, travel has resumed, and that's why we are seeing more cases," said Whitworth. One possible scenario behind the rise in cases is increased travel as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Scientists are now carrying out genomic sequencing to see if the viruses are linked, the World Health Organization (WHO) said this week. The UK Health Security Agency's alert also highlighted that the recent cases were predominantly among men who self-identified as gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men, and advised those groups to be aware. Only the first case reported on May 6 had recently traveled to Nigeria.Īs such, experts have warned of wider transmission if cases have gone unreported. Transmission this time is puzzling experts, because a number of the cases in the United Kingdom - nine as of May 18 - have no known connection with each other. It was first found in monkeys in 1958, hence the name, although rodents are now seen as the probable main animal host. The virus spreads through close contact, both in spillovers from animals and, less commonly, between humans. The United States has also reported one case. Neither country has reported cases before. Portugal has logged five confirmed cases, and Spain is testing 23 potential cases. It has only happened eight times in the past before this year," said Jimmy Whitworth, a professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who said it was "highly unusual". "Historically, there have been very few cases exported. The UK cases have been reported as the West African strain. It is usually mild, although there are two main strains: the Congo strain, which is more severe – with up to 10% mortality – and the West African strain, which has a fatality rate in about 1% of cases. Monkeypox is a virus that causes fever symptoms as well as a distinctive bumpy rash.