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Microbiologist at work (symbolic image): Spanish authorities are apparently checking whether an event on Gran Canaria is the source of the outbreak
Photo: Martin Bühler / dpa
The Spanish authorities are investigating the assumption that an event in Gran Canaria could have been another source of infection for monkeypox.
The newspaper "El País" reported on Saturday, citing unspecified sources in the health sector.
The newspaper reports that several infected people took part in the "Masapalomas Pride" in Gran Canaria.
It is therefore about “two or three” Italians, several people from Madrid and a case that is being investigated on the island itself.
A spokesman for the Canary Islands government admitted to the newspaper that one of the Italians concerned had stayed in the Canary Islands.
The spokesman declined further information and referred to “ongoing epidemiological investigations”.
more on the subject
Viral Infection: What Do The Global Monkeypox Cases Mean?
About 80,000 people from Spain and many other countries took part in "Maspalomas Pride" from May 5 to 15, the newspaper reported.
It is therefore considered an important event in the gay community.
Intimate contacts are a possible transmission route for the virus.
However, a virologist said in the article that the disease is more commonly transmitted by other routes.
According to the RKI, infection is also possible through contact with body fluids or skin crusts of infected people.
The newspaper quotes a doctor from Rome as saying that the patients from Italy are doing relatively well.
You would have swollen, painful lymph nodes and some skin pustules.
So far, 30 cases of monkeypox have been detected in Spain.
There are also another 23 suspected cases, the media reported on Friday.
The local newspaper »Público« wrote about the situation in Portugal that 23 cases have now been confirmed.
The first infected person recorded in Germany had traveled from Portugal via Spain to Germany – but it was initially unclear whether he was infected in one of the two countries.
British medics worried
Meanwhile, British physicians have expressed concern about the possible impact of monkeypox on medical care for STDs and fertility treatments.
Doctors and nurses who come into contact with infected people should isolate themselves, Claire Dewsnap, head of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, told the BBC on Saturday.
In London, clinics would no longer offer "walk-in" treatment, the broadcaster reported.
Patients would therefore have to call in advance and describe their symptoms before being given an appointment.
Dewsnap said the infections would add to the pressure on already heavily-stretched staff.
"I'm not worried about infections and the consequences for those affected," said the head of the association.
But she is worried about being able to continue to ensure good care.
She called for more financial support.
»Unusual situation«
Pandemic expert Peter Horby from the University of Oxford was puzzled by the spread of monkeypox.
It is an "unusual situation" as the virus is transmitted outside of West and Central Africa, he told the BBC.
There is "apparently an element of sexual transmission," Horby said, explaining that the virus has been found primarily in gay or bisexual men.
The UK Health Authority said a "significant proportion" of early-detected cases involved gay and bisexual men, calling for vigilance in this demographic in particular.
Symptoms of monkeypox in humans include fever, headache, muscle aches, and a rash that often starts on the face and then spreads to other parts of the body.
Most people recover from the disease within a few weeks, and death is rare.
There is no specific therapy and no vaccination against monkeypox.
According to historical data, however, a smallpox vaccination protects against monkeypox - and probably for life.
As the RKI explains, however, large parts of the world's population have no vaccination protection.
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