欧美多国报告猴痘病例，世卫组织警告：可能更多
最近两周，美国、英国、葡萄牙和西班牙等欧美国家通报发现罕见的猴痘病例。
当地时间5月18日，美国疾病控制和预防中心（CDC）在一份声明中表示，该机构正在与马萨诸塞州卫生官员合作，调查一起猴痘病例。马萨诸塞州卫生官员早些时候宣布，最近一名去过加拿大的男子被确证感染猴痘。这也是美国2022年确诊的首个猴痘病例。
当地时间19日，欧洲疾控中心官网发布，欧洲已确认多例猴痘病例。
截至5月18日，英国已报告9个确诊病例，其中第一例于6日确诊；葡萄牙报告5个确诊病例，患者均为年轻男性，另有超过10个疑似病例；西班牙报告超过20个疑似病例，病例全部为男性。
19日，更多欧美国家报告猴痘病例。其中，意大利、瑞典、比利时和加拿大均发现确诊病例，法国报告疑似病例。
European and American health authorities have identified a number of monkeypox cases in recent days, mostly in young men. It's a surprising outbreak of disease that rarely appears outside Africa.
Health officials around the world are keeping watch for more cases because, for the first time, the disease appears to be spreading among people who didn't travel to Africa. They stress, however, that the risk to the general population is low.
英国卫生安全局首席医疗顾问苏珊·霍普金斯说，这一情况是“罕见和不寻常的”，“这些最新病例以及欧洲各国的病例报告证实了我们最初的担忧，即猴痘可能会社区传播”。
世界卫生组织18日发布了关联英国猴痘病例的公报，称目前尚未确认这些病例的感染源，依据已知信息判断，感染似乎在英国发生，目前尚不清楚猴痘病毒在英国本土的传播程度，有可能发现更多病例。该机构建议英国继续强化公共卫生措施。
什么是猴痘？
猴痘是一种病毒性人畜共患病。猴痘病毒可通过密切接触由动物传染给人。猴痘的人际传播虽然通常不易发生，但确实可以通过体液、溃疡、被污染衣物接触以及长时间面对面接触所导致的呼吸道飞沫等渠道传播。
人感染猴痘的初期症状包括发烧、头痛、肌肉酸痛、背痛、淋巴结肿大等，之后可发展为面部和身体大范围皮疹。多数感染者会在几周内康复，但也有感染者会出现严重疾病。
猴痘病毒于1958年首次在研究用猴子群体中发现。1970年刚果民主共和国发现了首例人感染该病毒的病例。今天，大多数猴痘感染仍然发生在中非和西非地区。
A red-tailed monkey is seen at the Lwiru Primates Rehabilitation Centre, in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. /Reuters/Djaffar Al Katanty
Monkeypox is a virus that originates in wild animals like rodents and primates, and occasionally jumps to people. Most human cases have been in central and west Africa, where the disease is endemic.
Monkeypox belongs to the same virus family as smallpox but causes milder symptoms.
Most patients only experience fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. People with more serious illness may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.
The incubation period is from about five days to three weeks. Most people recover within about two to four weeks without needing to be hospitalized.
猴痘的发病率如何？
据世卫组织估计，在大约12个非洲国家，每年会有数千人感染猴痘，大多数病例发生在刚果和尼日利亚——刚果每年报告约6000例病例。
专家表示，不完善的健康监测系统意味着许多感染者可能被遗漏。
在非洲以外的国家偶尔也会发现孤立的猴痘病例，但这些病例通常与前往非洲旅行或接触来自该疾病多发地区的动物有关。
The World Health Organization estimates there are thousands of monkeypox infections in about a dozen African countries every year. Most are in Congo, which reports about 6,000 cases annually, and Nigeria, with about 3,000 cases a year.
Patchy health monitoring systems mean many infected people are likely missed, experts say.
Isolated cases of monkeypox are occasionally spotted outside Africa, including in the U.S. and Britain. The cases are typically associated with travel to Africa or contact with animals from areas where the disease is more common.
In 2003, 47 people in six U.S. states had confirmed or probable cases. They caught the virus from pet prairie dogs that been housed near imported small mammals from Ghana.
如何防治？
世卫组织表示，猴痘病毒有西非进化枝和刚果盆地（中非）进化枝。据记载，该病毒西非分支的病死率约为1%，其刚果盆地分支的病死率可能达10%。
英国卫生安全局一名发言人表示，猴痘没有特定的疫苗，但天花疫苗确实可以提供一定的保护。据世卫组织数据显示，用于根除天花的疫苗对猴痘的效果高达85%。
周四，欧洲疾病预防和控制中心建议隔离所有疑似病例，并向高风险接触者提供天花疫苗。
Monkeypox can be fatal for up to one in 10 people and is thought to be more severe in children.
People exposed to the virus are often given one of several smallpox vaccines, which have been shown to be effective against monkeypox. Anti-viral drugs are also being developed.
On Thursday, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recommended all suspected cases be isolated and that high-risk contacts be offered the smallpox vaccine.