First smallpox related deaths in Europe

First smallpox related deaths in Europe

Two men died in Spain after being infected with the monkeypox virus. These are the first two deaths in Europe. In Brazil, a 41-year-old man who also had cancer died. This confirms three virus-related deaths outside Africa, where the World Health Organization (WHO) had previously reported five deaths.

In Spain, both infected people died as a result of encephalitis, as the Ministry of Health announced over the weekend. They were a younger man of unknown age in Valencia and a thirty-one-year-old in Cordoba. An autopsy should clarify the cause of death in more detail. So far, 21,699 cases have been reported worldwide, 4,298 of them in Spain and most of them in Madrid (1,656). This is the second highest number after the United States (4907). According to the Robert Koch Institute, 2,410 cases had been reported in Germany as of the middle of last week. Men who have had sexual contact with other men are more likely to get sick. Only five women and no children were affected. Overall, the WHO, which has declared a global health emergency, speaks of more than 18,000 cases. In Spain, three percent or 120 of those infected were hospitalized, mainly because of the pain caused by the pustules. The victims are mainly people suffering from other diseases and children, Madrid microbiologist José Antonio López Guerrero told the newspaper “El País”.