The Spanish health ministry has this Friday confirmed the first death in Spain from monkeypox. Although at the moment no additional data has been provided on the person who lost their life to the virus, Spain heads the list of countries with the highest number of cases in this new outbreak, not including those countries where it had previously become endemic. The outbreak which began this year has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization due to the speed with which it has spread in Europe. According to data from Spain's National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (RENAVE), a total of 4,298 confirmed cases have been notified in the Spanish state up until this Friday.
More than 4,000 infected in Spain
Of the 3,750 people infected in Spain for whom information is available, one hundred and twenty are known to have been hospitalized (3.2%) and one has died, becoming the first fatality in Spain from this disease, and probably also in Europe. The Spanish Health Alerts and Emergencies Coordination Centre has this Friday released the latest data on people infected with monkeypox in the country, showing that, of the total number of confirmed cases, more than 4,000 were men and only 64 were women. The age range of people infected is extremely wide, from just 10 months to 88 years, with an average age of 37 years. This data also shows how the resurgence of the disease has disproportionately affected a segment of the population: of the 4,148 patients on whom information is available, 3,458 of those infected are men who have sex with men.
Facts about monkeypox infections
The statistical information available also sheds light on the most likely transmission mechanism in 2,253 of the cases: in 82.1% it was through close contact in the context of a sexual relationship, and in 10.5% by close non-sexual contact. In relation to attendance at mass events, of the 3,137 cases for which there is data on this variable, 560 attended some event in the days prior to the onset of symptoms. The notified cases come from all 17 autonomous communities in the Spanish state. To date, 1,656 have been registered in Madrid; 1,406 in Catalonia; followed by other communities with substantially smaller totals of cases: Andalusia, with 498; the Valencian Country with 213; Canary Islands, 102; 98 in the Basque Country; 89 in the Balearic Islands; 45 in Aragon and 37 in Galicia. The communities with the fewest infected are Asturias, with 36; Castella y Leon, 31; Castella-La Mancha, 23; Extremadura, 20; Murcia, 19; Cantabria, 15; Navarra, 8; and La Rioja, with only 2 cases.