Catalonia has detected this friday 25 more cases of monkeypox (‘monkeypox’ in English), according to a statement from the Ministry of Health. In total, Catalonia has detected 39 cases of the 253 diagnosed throughout Spain, according to today’s balance of the Ministry of Health. For privacy reasons, no further details of confirmed cases are given.
According to Salut, the process to confirm potential suspected cases of monkeypox requires microbiology and sequencing studies that are not immediate. Suspicious cases that the Catalan surveillance network classifies as such are reported to the Center for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies (CCAES).
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Spain announced yesterday that it will vaccinate against smallpox only direct contacts of people infected with monkeypox. At the present time, “and taking into account the limited dose availability,” the Ministry of Health will prioritize vaccination “post-exposure” in people “at high risk of severity or exposure”. That is, those who have been direct contacts of people already infected.
As reported by Health, “Pre-exposure vaccination is not recommended at this time,” although he acknowledges that “it could be recommended later depending on the evolution of the outbreak and the availability of vaccines.”