The rate of Monkeypox in Malta is one of the highest in Europe
The rate of cases of monkeypox in Malta is one of the highest in Europe, with only four other countries showing a higher incidence, according to data released by the European Center for the Prevention and Control of -Diseases (ECDC).
In an update earlier this week, the ECDC reported that, with 31 cases detected since mid-May, Malta had a rate of 60.1 cases per million people.
This was the fifth highest rate in Europe, with only Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg and the Netherlands recording higher numbers.
Several countries, including those with much larger populations than Malta, have experienced fewer monkeypox infections in terms of sheer numbers.
These include Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Slovakia.
According to the ECDC, there have been 16,750 cases of monkeypox found across Europe since May, with Spain, Germany and France having the highest numbers.
Monkey pox is a rare disease usually linked to contact with wild animals in West and Central Africa. Cases have been found in Europe, in the United Kingdom as well as in the United States during the last months.
The ECDC says that monkeypox does not spread easily between people.
“Human-to-human transmission occurs through close contact with infectious material from skin wounds of an infected person, through respiratory droplets in prolonged face-to-face contact, and through fomites ,” she says.
Its symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen glands, chills and lethargy. A rash that starts on the face may also develop.
Last week, Malta received its first doses of the monkeypox vaccine which is being offered free of charge to primary contacts of confirmed cases.
Two doses of the vaccine are required. The Maltese health authorities had announced that they had discovered the first case on 27 May.
In July, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of monkey pox as a global health emergency, the highest alarm it can sound.
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