by Michael Le Page at NewScientist
There is growing concern about an outbreak of monkeypox, with dozens of confirmed cases in at least six countries and more emerging by the day.
Here is what we know so far:
What is monkeypox?
Monkeypox is a disease caused by a virus that, as the name suggests, usually spreads among monkeys in Central and West Africa, but occasionally jumps to people, causing small outbreaks.
It was first spotted in monkeys in labs in 1958. The first human case was identified in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970.
How many cases are there in the current outbreak?
At time of publication, 109 monkeypox cases are either confirmed or suspected worldwide, according to a list of reports being compiled by Moritz Kraemer at the University of Oxford, John Brownstein at Boston Children’s Hospital and their colleagues.
The UK has nine confirmed cases, mostly in London. Portugal has 14 confirmed and 20 suspected cases, while Spain has seven confirmed and 24 suspected cases. Italy has two suspected cases, while Belgium has two suspected cases and one confirmed. France and Sweden have one confirmed case each.
The US has one confirmed and one suspected case. Canada has one confirmed and 21 suspected cases. Australia has one confirmed and one suspected case.
Kraemer and Brownstein think these cases could be the tip of the iceberg. “It’s probably more widespread than we are currently detecting,” says Kraemer.