to control contagion, cut the chains of transmission and try to mitigate the transmission of this virus as much as possible,' said regional health chief Enrique Ruiz Escudero. .
'But I am concerned about our ability to maintain good sexual health services and access for everyone while still managing this new infection.'.Dr Dewsnap also called for 'adequate funding' for sexual health services.Meanwhile, Professor Sir Peter Horby, director of the Pandemic Sciences Institute at Oxford University, described the current monkeypox outbreak as 'an unusual situation', because the virus is being transmitted within communities outside of Central and West Africa.He added: 'It would appear that there is some element of sexual transmission perhaps with just the very close contact between people and the skin lesions, because a large proportion of the current cases are being detected in gay and bisexual men.The Portuguese cases remain under clinical follow-up but none have been hospitalized as they are all stable, the health authority said.Health chiefs say the pattern of transmission is 'highly suggestive of spread in sexual networks'.
The tropical virus is thought to be spread by rodents, including rats, mice and even squirrels.The virus can also spread through coughs and sneezes.Monkeypox is confirmed by a clinical assessment by a health professional and a test in a specialist lab?The scabs may also contain infectious virus material?The UK, US, Israel and Singapore are the only countries which had detected the virus before May 2022?A World Health Organization report last year suggested the natural R rate of the virus – the number of people each patient would infect if they lived normally while sick – is two.Twelve countries — including the US, Spain and Italy — have now detected cases of monkeypox?Germany subsequently confirmed its first ever monkeypox case in a patient who had 'characteristic skin lesions' — a tell-tale sign of the illness.France last night confirmed a 29-year-old man in Paris had contracted the virus.The Netherlands Portugal, Sweden and Canada have also detected casesThe UK cases all had the West African version of the virus, which is mild compared to the Central African strainThe jab, thought to cost £20 per dose, contains a modified vaccinia virus, which is similar to both smallpox and monkeypox, but does not cause disease in peopleBut six of the previous nine confirmed cases were in men who have sex with men — which officials say is 'highly suggestive of spread in sexual networks'