Monkeypox "will not be like COVID" - Spanish microbiologist

Reuters Videos
Updated
3

STORY: Spain confirmed a total of 142 positive monkeypox cases on Wednesday (June 1), 22 more than reported on Monday (May 30), the Spanish health ministry said.

“I would not call it a concern. There is an alert, which is not necessarily a concern," he said. "I think we are all convinced this is not going to be like SARS-CoV-2 (COVID)."

Spain, Portugal and Britain are the countries with most cases in the outbreak of monkeypox outside parts of West and Central Africa where it is endemic.

The Madrid region began testing for monkeypox on Monday (May 30) at five different hospitals as cases continued to slightly rise in the country.

"Should there be a spike in cases in the coming days, mainly because of certain events or parties where transmission is easier, that's to be expected, but it would be very far from what we experienced with COVID,” Garcia Rodriguez said.

The World Health Organization said on Sunday (May 29) that monkeypox constitutes a "moderate risk" to overall public health at a global level after cases were reported in countries where the disease is not typically found.

The usually mild illness that can cause flu-like symptoms and skin lesions has disproportionately affected men who have sex with men.