Didžioji Britanija ragina žmones, sergančius beždžionėmis, susilaikyti nuo sekso, kai daugėja atvejų

U.K. health authorities have urged anyone who tests positive for the monkeypox virus to abstain from sex until their symptoms have cleared.

Naujuose guidance released Monday, the U.K. Health Security Agency also recommended that previously infected persons continue to use condoms for a period of eight weeks after the virus has passed, as a precautionary measure.

The health agency said the risks to the general public remain low, but encouraged people to contact a health professional if they notice any unusual rashes or lesions.

The advice comes after Britain recorded an additional 71 atvejai of the virus over the weekend, bringing the U.K. total to 179 less than a month after its first case was on gali 7.

The U.K. now has the highest monkeypox case count among non-endemic countries, followed by Spain with 120 and Portugal with 96.

As of Monday, there were 555 confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox in countries outside of Africa, according to Our World in Data.

Monkeypox is a rare infectious disease typically found in Central and West African countries. Symptoms include rashes, karščiavimas, galvos skausmas, raumenų skausmas, patinimas ir nugaros skausmas. 

While the virus is generally mild, usually clearing up on its own within two to four weeks, health experts have voiced concern over the recent spike in cases in countries where monkeypox does not usually spread, and the growing risks of community transmission.

The majority of cases so far have been plinta per seksą, with a particular concentration of cases occurring within the gay and bisexual communities and men who have sex with men, according to the World Health Organization.

The public health body said Monday that it was not yet clear whether the recent outbreak could lead to a pasaulinė pandemija but said that there is currently a window of opportunity to curb rising cases.

“Collectively, the world has an opportunity to stop this outbreak. There is a window,” Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for monkeypox, said during a briefing.

The WHO also said it is currently considering whether the outbreak should be assessed as a “potential public health emergency of international concern.” Such a declaration was done for the Covid-19 and Ebola outbreaks, and would enable additional research and funding to contain the disease, it noted.

Jei įtariate, kad galėjote užsikrėsti beždžionių raupais, atsiribokite nuo fizinio kontakto su kitais ir nedelsdami kreipkitės į gydytoją.

Pradiniai simptomai beždžionių raupai apima karščiavimas, galvos skausmas, raumenų skausmas, patinimas ir nugaros skausmas. Bėrimai ir pažeidimai paprastai atsiranda ant veido, rankų, pėdų, akių, burnos ar lytinių organų nuo vienos iki penkių dienų. Tie bėrimai virsta iškilusiais iškilimais, o vėliau pūslėmis, kurios gali prisipildyti baltu skysčiu, prieš lūžtant ir nubrozdant.

Tačiau daugelį viruso simptomų galima lengvai supainioti su kitomis ligomis, tokiomis kaip vėjaraupiai, pūslelinė ar sifilis, todėl svarbus medicininis patvirtinimas.

If you are diagnosed with monkeypox, the U.K. guidance is that you will need to isolate until the virus has passed. Close contacts of someone with monkeypox may also be risk assessed and asked to isolate for 21 days.

The illness is typically mild and most people recover within two to four weeks. While medical advice currently varies across countries, the U.K.’s National Health Service notes that jums gali tekti likti specializuotoje ligoninėje užkirsti kelią infekcijos plitimui kitiems žmonėms.