Number of monkeypox cases rises to 22 in Finland

A total of 22 cases of monkeypox were diagnosed so far in Finland until 4 August, said the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in a press release on Tuesday.

Most of the infections originated outside of Finland. However, some of the infections occurred inside Finland, which means that the possibility of being infected in Finland is worth considering.

All of those who have been infected are men.

Infection diseases specialist Dr. Markku Broas in early August told Daily Finland that the infection rate of monkeypox in Finland is not widespread and there is no need to be worried about the disease at this moment.

The number of monkeypox infections in the country was 13 until early July.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 23,351 laboratory-confirmed monkeypox infections have been diagnosed worldwide since the beginning of January 2022 (situation on 2 August 2022).

The countries with the highest numbers of reported cases have been the U.K., Spain, Germany, France, and the United States. There have been cases detected in a total of 83 different countries.

Brazil, Spain, India and Peru have reported a total of five deaths associated with monkeypox in men between the ages of 22 and 45.

The cases that have now been reported are the first deaths associated with non-African monkeypox.

More detailed information on the cases is still pending, but according to media information, three of the infected died of encephalitis, which is a rare but well-known complication caused by monkeypox.

The definition of close contact with a person who has fallen ill with monkeypox has been specified at the beginning of August. The most important close contact group is still those who have been in sexual contact with an infected person.