The surge in monkeypox cases across Europe have been linked to a Belgium fetish festival and a superspreader event at an adult sauna in Madrid, Spain.
Most of Spain's 30 cases have been associated with a sauna in the country's capital, according to officials. The region's health chief, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, told reporters that health officials detected a “notable proportion” of the European cases are in gay and bisexual men. While three cases in Belgium were linked to fetish festival Darklands in Antwerp.
The disease, which is mainly spread by wild animals and is most common in remote parts of Central and West Africa, has also been found in the UK, with the UK Health Security Agency identifying 20 cases so far. Its chief medical adviser Dr Susan Hopkins told the BBC's Sunday Morning programme: "We are detecting more cases on a daily basis."
