As of June 1, 2022 over 550 lab-confirmed monkeypox cases have been reported from 30 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said at a press briefing. These countries are predominantly in Europe and North America, which are not endemic for monkeypox virus. With 190 cases as on May 30, the outbreak in the U.K. is the largest so far, with Spain (132 cases) and Portugal (132 cases) being the other countries with a large number of monkeypox cases.
The WHO once again stressed that the large number of cases detected in more than two dozen countries within a short time interval suggests that there “may have been undetected transmission for some time”. The cases have predominantly been reported among men who have sex with men presenting with symptoms at sexual health clinics.
The two rave parties in Belgium and Portugal have turned out to be super-spreader events. In a statement released on May 31, 2022 the European Union underlined the link between these parties and cases. It said, “Multiple countries have reported cases which appear to be linked to events taking place in Spain (Madrid and the Canary Islands) and Belgium (Antwerp).”
