Monkeypox has now been spotted in Portugal and Spain, in what could be the first global outbreak of the rare disease.

Spain is monitoring eight men who it believes are infected, with tests being carried out to confirm they have the virus.

All of the men are gay or bisexual, according to local media, and most were detected at STI clinics in Madrid.

Five men in Portugal have also tested positive and at least 15 more cases are being investigated, health officials there said today.

These cases are all male and mostly ‘young’ — but it is not yet clear how they caught the virus.

Until now, monkeypox cases were confined to travellers and their relatives returning from western and central Africa, where the virus is endemic.

But experts now fear it is spreading more widely for the first time, after seven Britons were diagnosed in the past fortnight. 

Six of them appear to have been infected in the UK and the majority are not linked, which suggests more cases are going undetected. Health chiefs are scrambling to find the source of the cases.

Four of the British patients are gay or bisexual men, and officials say the pattern of transmission is ‘highly suggestive of spread in sexual networks’. 

Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at the University of Reading, told MailOnline he suspects UK case numbers are already ‘in the tens’.

But he insisted the disease will not spread like Covid, adding: ‘I would be surprised if we ever got to more than 100 cases [in Britain]’.

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection which kills up to one in ten of those infected but does not spread easily between people. The tropical disease is endemic in parts of Africa and is known for its rare and unusual rashes, bumps and lesions (file photo)

Seven Britons have been diagnosed with monkeypox and six of them appear to have contracted it in the UK — in a sign the virus is spreading in the community. The seventh UK patient had brought the virus back from Nigeria, where the disease is widespread. At least three patients are receiving care at specialist NHS units in London and Newcastle

Regions across Spain have been put on alert following the announcement of eight suspected cases in Madrid.

Confirmation is still awaited from the National Centre for Microbiology but health chiefs say ‘great care must be taken.’

The country’s top public health doctor, Fernando Simón, said ‘it is not likely that monkeypox will generate a significant transmission but it cannot be ruled out’. 

The Spanish health alert system has called on communities to notify public health services ‘urgently’ of patients with symptoms. 

He said it was now necessary to take extreme surveillance measures and investigate all the hypotheses about the routes of contagion.

Mr Simon was talking to the media in Valencia during the I International Summit on Pandemic Management.

Spanish newspaper El Pais says it has had access to health papers and that the health leaders have confirmed the investigation.

It claims most of the cases were detected at the Sandoval Health Centre in the capital, an STI clinic.

The Spanish broadcaster RTVE said all eight of the patients were men who had homosexual relationships.

Meanwhile, the suspected cases in Portugal were all detected in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region.

The men are said to be ‘stable’ and all suffering from ‘ulcerative lesions’, one of the tell-tale signs of the virus.

Portugal’s health ministry has issued a warning urging people with lesions and rashes to see a doctor.

When these symptoms appear, ‘direct physical contact’ should be avoided, officials added.

Until now monkeypox had only ever been detected in four countries outside of Africa — the UK, US, Israel and Singapore.

All of the cases had travel links back to Nigeria and Ghana.

Infections are more common in central and western Africa, where they can result from direct contact with infected animals.

Health experts investigating the new monkeypox outbreak in Britain believe the virus may be spreading sexually between people for the first time.

It was thought that monkeypox could only be passed on through close contact with the likes of body fluids, respiratory droplets and lesions.

Nurses and doctors are being advised to stay ‘alert’ to patients who present with a new rash or scabby lesions (like above)

But an expert from the UK Health Security Agency said the latest UK cases ‘appear to have acquired the infection via sexual contact’.

Dr Mateo Prochazka, who leads the UKHSA team which is investigating monkeypox, described this route of transmission as ‘novel’.

Seven people have been diagnosed with the virus in England over the past two weeks, five of which are in London.

Four are gay or bisexual men and only one has recent travel links to a country where the virus is endemic, which is ‘highly suggestive’ of spread in ‘sexual networks’, Dr Prochazka added.

Writing on Twitter, he said: ‘Transmission is not easy but can happen person to person from direct contact with lesions, or respiratory secretions.

‘The closer and longer the contact, the more likely it is to transmit.

‘Close contact between two people (such as during sex) could also facilitate transmission – but this has never been described before.

‘However, the high proportion of cases in the current outbreak in England that are gay or bisexual (4/7, 57%) is highly suggestive of spread in sexual networks.

‘This is further suggested by the fact that common contacts have been identified for only 2 of the 4 latest cases.’ Dr Prochazka continued: ‘Finding monkeypox cases that do not have travel links is rare, and suggestive of importation followed by some extent of community transmission.

‘This situation is being rapidly assessed.

‘What is even more bizarre is finding cases that appear to have acquired the infection via sexual contact – this is a novel route of transmission that will have implications for outbreak response and control.’ 

Sexual health services are now working to identify more cases, control its spread and tackle potential stigma.

Other experts said further research is necessary before it will be possible to conclude if the virus is sexually transmissible.

Other infections that are not technically STIs but can spread during sex include shigella.

Monkeypox can kill up to one in ten people who get it but the new cases have the West African variant, which is deadly for around one in 100.

Initial symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.

A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, then spreading to other parts of the body including the genitals.

The rash changes and goes through different stages, and can look like chickenpox or syphilis, before finally forming a scab, which later falls off.

EVERYTHING you need to know about monkeypox: Strain spreading in UK ‘transmits through sex’ and is about as deadly as the Wuhan Covid variant — but UK doesn’t have a vaccine

What is monkeypox?

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection which people usually pick up in the tropical areas of west and central Africa.

It is usually spread through direct contact with animals such as squirrels, which are known to harbour the virus.

However, it can also be transmitted through very close contact with an infected person. 

Monkeypox was first discovered when an outbreak of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research in 1958.

The first human case was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the infection has been reported in a number of central and western African countries since then.

Only a handful of cases have been reported outside of Africa and they are normally confined to people with travel links to the continent.

How deadly is it?

Monkeypox is usually mild, with most patients recovering within a few weeks without treatment. Yet, the disease can prove fatal.

Monkeypox kills up to 10 per cent of people it infects.

However, with milder strains the fatality rate is closer to one in 100 — similar to when Covid first hit.

The UK cases all had the West African strain of the virus, which is mild compared to the Central African strain. 

Is there a cure?

There are no specific treatments available for monkeypox infection.

However, because monkeypox virus is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox, jabs for smallpox can also protect people from getting monkeypox.

One vaccine, Jynneos, also known as Imvamune or Imvanex, has been licensed in the US to prevent monkeypox, but it’s not approved in the UK.

The vaccine was shown to be around 85 per cent effective in preventing monkeypox.

Antivirals and pooled blood from individuals vaccinated against smallpox can be used to treat severe cases.

What is the situation with the current UK outbreak?

Seven cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in the UK between May 6 and 15. 

Six of the infected Brits had not recently travelled abroad, suggesting there is transmission between people in the UK for the first time.

Some of the cases are believed to have caught the virus through sex — which health experts have described as ‘bizarre’.

Monkeypox was not thought to spread via sexual intercourse but through close contact with lesions or respiratory droplets. However, just because it can spread during sex does not mean it is the virus’ primary route of transmission, nor does it make it an STI.

The NHS is tracking down contacts of those infected to identify additional cases, as it is not clear how all of the infected people caught Monkeypox.

Health leaders are also working with international agencies to determine if similar outbreaks are occurring elsewhere. 

What do we know about the British cases so far?

Five are based in London, one in the South East, and one in the North East. 

The first case was confirmed on May 7 in an individual who had recently travelled to Nigeria. 

They received care at the expert infectious disease unit at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London.

Two more cases in London were announced on May 14. The infected pair live together in the same household but had not been in contact with the case announced one week earlier.

One of these individuals is receiving care at the expert infectious disease unit at St Mary’s Hospital in London. The other is isolating at home and does not need hospital treatment.

Four more cases were announced on May 16, bringing the UK total to seven.

Two of the cases were in London, with the other two in the North East and South East of England.

The most recent four cases have no known connections with the earlier three cases, but two of them were known to each other.

The four new cases were in gay and bisexual men.

Mateo Prochazka, an STI expert and head of UKHSA team probing the outbreak, claimed the pattern of spread is ‘highly suggestive of spread in…

“Es probable que pasemos otros 12 meses en el Reino Unido”: Kerry Katona revela que planea mudarse para comenzar una nueva vida en España con su pareja Ryan Mahoney después de una temporada en el hospital

Por Bethan Edwards para Mailonline

Publicado: 06:16 EDT, 17 de mayo de 2022 | Actualizado: 07:51 EDT, 17 de mayo de 2022

Kerry Katona ha revelado que planea comenzar una nueva vida en España con su pareja Ryan Mahoney el lunes.

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La ex estrella de Atomic Kitten, de 41 años, espera encontrar la casa de sus sueños y planea ‘mirar escuelas pronto’ lista para lo grande en el extranjero.

Kerry detalló cómo espera reubicarse en su último OK! Columna de revista por esta época el próximo año.

Nuevos comienzos: Kerry Katona ha revelado que planea comenzar una nueva vida en España con su pareja Ryan Mahoney el lunes.

Ella reveló: “Es probable que hagamos otros 12 meses en el Reino Unido”.

Resplandeciente: la ex estrella de Atomic Kitten, de 41 años, detalló cómo espera mudarse en su último OK! Columna de revista para esta época el próximo año (en la foto de 2020)

La ex cantante explicó cómo fue a Londres por trabajo la semana pasada y el largo viaje la desanimó para quedarse en el Reino Unido debido a que el viaje tomó un día completo.

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Ella agregó: ‘Puedes subirte a un avión y estar en Marbella en menos tiempo. Entonces, ese es nuestro plan. Es emocionante.’

Familia: Kerry tiene cinco hijos de relaciones anteriores y espera encontrar la casa de sus sueños y planea ‘mirar escuelas pronto’ lista para más en el extranjero (en la foto en 2019)

Luego, la estrella dijo que quiere despertarse con un sol glorioso todos los días y cree que sería una vida agradable en el extranjero.

Ella continuó: ‘Comenzaremos a buscar escuelas pronto para tener una idea de en qué nos estamos metiendo.

“Gran parte de mi trabajo está en línea ahora, por lo que tiene sentido pensar en un nuevo comienzo”.

Emocionante: la ex cantante explicó cómo fue a Londres por trabajo la semana pasada y el largo viaje la desanimó para quedarse en el Reino Unido debido a que el viaje tomó un día entero (en la foto con Ryan)

Kerry tiene cinco hijos de relaciones anteriores, Molly Marie McFadden, 20, Lilly-Sue McFadden, 19, Heidi Croft, 15, Maxwell Croft, 14 y Dylan-Jorge Kay, ocho.

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Se produce después de que Kerry generó preocupación después de revelar que ingresó en el hospital la semana pasada.

Tomando sus historias de Instagram en las primeras horas de la mañana del sábado para compartir un chasquido de su brazo conectado a un catéter venoso periférico, que se usa para la administración de medicamentos y líquidos.

Mal: se produce después de que Kerry generó preocupación después de revelar que ingresó en el hospital la semana pasada.

Al subtitular la publicación, Kerry escribió: “Realmente no estoy donde quiero estar”, junto con tres emojis de caras tristes.

La estrella no reveló qué le pasaba y cuánto tiempo había estado en el hospital.

MailOnline se ha puesto en contacto con los representantes de Kerry para obtener comentarios.

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Preocupación: Tomando sus historias de Instagram en la madrugada del sábado para compartir un chasquido de su brazo conectado a un catéter venoso periférico, que se usa para la administración de medicamentos y líquidos.

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Impresionante en plata! La reina Letizia de España deslumbra con un vestido de encaje metalizado mientras se une al rey Felipe para dar la bienvenida al emir de Qatar y su esposa a una cena de estado en el Palacio Real de Madrid.

• La Reina Letizia se unió a su esposo, el Rey Felipe, para organizar una cena de gala esta noche.
• La pareja recibió al emir jeque Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani de Qatar para una visita de estado
• Letizia, de 49 años, lució un elegante vestido de encaje de croché durante la cena en el Palacio Real

Por Monica Greep para Mailonline

Publicado: 18:10 EDT, 17 de mayo de 2022 | Actualizado: 18:10 EDT, 17 de mayo de 2022

La reina Letizia de España realizó una exhibición glamorosa cuando ella y el rey Felipe ofrecieron una lujosa cena de gala en honor a la visita de estado real de Qatar.

La pareja real recibió al Emir de Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani y a su esposa Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al-Thani en el Palacio Real de Madrid.

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Letizia, madre de dos hijos, de 49 años, optó por un elegante vestido plateado largo hasta el suelo con encaje de ganchillo y mangas de capa dramáticas cuando saludó a sus invitados reales esta noche.

La visita de la realeza qatarí se produce más de diez años después de la última visita de Estado qatarí a España, que llevó a cabo el entonces emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani y su esposa, la jequesa Mozah bint Nasser, padres del actual gobernante.

La reina Letizia de España fue la imagen del glamour cuando ella y el rey Felipe ofrecieron una lujosa cena de gala en honor a la visita de estado real de Qatar.

Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al-Thani lució igualmente elegante durante la gala, optando por un conjunto negro con deslumbrantes detalles plateados combinados con un par de aretes llamativos.

La Reina Letizia se reunió con la Presidenta de la Comunidad de Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, en una lujosa gala en el Palacio Real de Madrid.

La reina Letizia de España compartió un dulce momento con el rey Felipe al recibir a sus invitados antes de una cena de gala celebrada en el Palacio Real de Madrid.

Luciendo típicamente elegante, Letizia barrió sus cabellos castaños hacia atrás en un elegante peinado, agregando algo de brillo a su look con un par de zapatos plateados. pendientes de lágrima.

Manteniendo su apariencia simple, combinó el vestido con un delicado broche azul en forma de cinta y un solo anillo geométrico de oro.

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Optó por un look de maquillaje glamuroso para la cena, con un ojo ahumado pesado con sombra de ojos oscura y delineador combinado con una pizca de bronceador y un toque de iluminador.

Felipe, de 54 años, lució igualmente elegante para la primera noche de la visita de dos días con un traje de etiqueta negro combinado con una camisa blanca, corbatín y chaleco.

La pareja real recibió al Emir de Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani y a su esposa Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al-Thani en el Palacio Real de Madrid durante su primera visita real a España desde 2011

Letizia, madre de dos hijos, de 49 años, optó por un elegante vestido plateado largo hasta el suelo con encaje de ganchillo y mangas de capa dramáticas cuando saludó a sus invitados reales esta noche.

Ambas parejas aparecieron muy animadas durante la primera visita del estado real de Qatar a España desde 2011.

Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al-Thani lució igualmente elegante durante la gala, optando por un conjunto negro con deslumbrantes detalles plateados combinados con un par de aretes llamativos.

Hoy temprano, la pareja llegó al Palacio Real de El Pardo para una espectacular ceremonia de recepción en honor a su visita.

El acto contó con el repaso al batallón de honor de la Guardia Real acompañado por el Jefe del Estado Mayor de la Defensa, el Jefe del Cuartel Militar de la Casa de Su Majestad el Rey y el Jefe del batallón.

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La pareja real de Qatar se reunió con Letizia y Felipe en el Salón de Génova para una breve sesión informativa, antes de dirigirse al Palacio de La Zarzuela, donde el Rey Felipe mantuvo una reunión con el Emir del Estado de Qatar seguido de un almuerzo con la Reina Letizia y la Jequesa.

La reina Letizia le da la mano al presidente del Paris Saint-Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, en la cena de gala de esta noche.

El presidente del Gobierno de España, Pedro Sánchez, estrecha la mano del emir de Qatar, el jeque Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, en la cena de gala de esta noche.

Felipe, de 54 años, lució igual de elegante durante la primera noche de la visita de dos días con un traje de etiqueta negro combinado con una camisa blanca, corbatín y chaleco.

La realeza española se mostró de buen humor a pesar de sus apretadas agendas en las que el rey Felipe regresó de Oriente Medio en menos de una semana.

Se unió a miembros de la realeza y presidentes de todo el mundo, incluido el Príncipe William, para expresar sus condolencias al nuevo presidente de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos por la muerte del jeque Khalifa Bin Zayed al Nahyan.

Tras la visita de estado de Qatar, él y Letizia tienen por delante una semana ajetreada que incluye el primer Foro Hispanoárabe de Servicio Público Audiovisual, organizado por RTVE con el objetivo de fortalecer y establecer vínculos con la comunidad árabe.

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