Third monkeypox case in Switzerland reported in Zurich
A third case of monkeypox in Switzerland was reported in Zurich on Thursday. A first case became known on Saturday in the canton of Bern and a second on Tuesday in Geneva.
The Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) confirmed a case of monkeypox in the canton of Zurich on Thursday evening, without further information. The cases from the cantons of Bern and Geneva are men who are believed to have been infected abroad. According to the health authorities, they show only mild symptoms.
Monkeypox is a less dangerous cousin of smallpox, which was eradicated about 40 years ago. The disease begins with a high fever and quickly progresses to a crusting rash.
Monkeypox is a viral infectious disease caused by the orthopox virus, as the BAG writes on its website. In humans, the clinical picture bears a certain resemblance to smallpox (variola), although monkeypox infections are generally milder.
The infectious disease is transmitted from animals, presumably rodents, to humans (zoonosis). Human-to-human transmission is also possible.
More than 200 cases of monkeypox have now been confirmed outside of Africa, according to EU health authorities. A total of 19 federal states in which the disease does not normally occur would have confirmed at least one case.
“Most of the cases are young men who self-identify as men who have sex with men. There were no deaths, »said the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), based in Stockholm, on Wednesday evening.
Outside of the 11 countries where this rare disease is endemic, most confirmed cases are currently concentrated in three countries: the UK, Spain and Portugal – in descending order. (sda)
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