MADRID (dpa-AFX) – Deaths after a monkeypox infection have become known in Europe for the first time. The two men died in Spain on Friday and Saturday, according to the country’s health authorities. Another possible death became known over the weekend from Brazil. In view of the spread of monkeypox, the governor of the US state of New York declared a state of emergency.
The two patients died in hospitals in the regions of Valencia and Andalusia. According to official information, both had been admitted with brain inflammation. The Health Ministry of the Region of Valencia announced on Friday evening that the patient’s death was “caused by an infection-related encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).” The regional newspaper “Levante” wrote that it was a “man of about 40 years old” who was in intensive care in Alicante.
In Andalusia, the Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that the second fatality was a 31-year-old. He was taken to the intensive care unit of the University Hospital in Crdoba with meningoencephalitis – which affects not only the brain but also the meninges.
Several Spanish experts emphasized that both deaths were probably due to previous illnesses. “In 99 percent of cases it is a benign infection, but there are patients who are more susceptible, for example people with comorbidities or children,” said microbiologist Jos Antonio Lpez Guerrero of Madrid’s Universidad Autnoma of the newspaper “El Pas”. . Regarding encephalitis, he said that these are not uncommon in various viral infections.
It was initially unclear whether the two deaths were accompanied by concomitant diseases. “El Pas” wrote that the medical institute “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” in Madrid wanted to examine tissue samples in order to better understand the causes of death.
Spain is one of the countries hardest hit by monkeypox. With around 4,300 cases recorded, there were around 120 hospital admissions, the Ministry of Health said. Experts called for more and better measures to curb the spread of the disease.
One must prevent the virus from “spreading to brothels or families with children,” said the immunologist Alfredo Corell from the University of Valladolid to the newspaper “El Mundo”. You also have to think about isolating infected people. The head of the department for infectious diseases at the Badalona University Hospital, Roger Paredes, demanded that the authorities not only in Spain but throughout Europe “accelerate and strengthen” the actions against monkeypox – for example through more vaccinations.
Brazil also reported its first possible monkeypox-related death on Friday. The Ministry of Health in Braslia said it was a patient with other diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) had previously registered five deaths in the current monkeypox outbreak – all in Africa.
In view of the rapid spread of monkeypox, the WHO declared the highest alert level last weekend. The worldwide spread of the infectious disease is unusual, previously it was essentially limited to six African countries.
The US state of New York declared a state of emergency because of the outbreak. “This action allows us to respond more quickly to the outbreak and take additional steps to vaccinate more New Yorkers,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. You have to “use every tool” to contain the virus and protect risk groups as well as possible. Contact tracing is being intensified and more health workers mobilized to administer vaccinations. In addition, the test capacities would be expanded.
The state of emergency applies in New York until August 28th. On Friday, the state Department of Health reported 1,383 infections with the monkeypox virus, which were mainly concentrated in the metropolis of New York. This corresponds to about a quarter of the cases registered in the USA. New York Mayor Eric Adams also declared a public health emergency in the city: “New York City is currently the epicenter of the outbreak and we estimate that around 150,000 New Yorkers may have been exposed to monkeypox.”
At the most recent count, there were nearly 23,000 cases of monkeypox worldwide. Europe is particularly affected with more than 14,000 cases. By Friday, almost 2,600 of these were in Germany. A skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, as well as fever, chills and muscle pain can occur with monkeypox infection. According to WHO information, around eight percent of patients in Europe have been hospitalized so far, mostly because of severe pain or additional infections./er/DP/he
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