Monkeypox: 50 cases in Greece - All men with an average age of 36 years

There are 50 cases of monkeypox that have been identified in Greece to date, according to data published by EODY in its weekly report. All cases concern men with an average age of 36 years, have recovered or are recovering in generally good clinical condition.

The report states:

Monkeypox is a viral infection first recognised in 1958. Since then, it has been occurring in tropical regions of West and Central Africa. It is transmitted through contact with wild animals and from human to human through close physical contact.

In May 2022, an increased number of monkeypox cases were recorded in non-endemic countries. In total, in Europe, until August 16, 2022, 18,960 cases of the disease were recorded in 43 different countries (source: https://monkeypoxreport.ecdc.europa.eu/).

The data presented in this report concern the laboratory-confirmed cases of monkeypox virus infection in Greece, based on the data declared to EODY and recorded until August 18, 2022.

The Division of Epidemiological Surveillance and Intervention for Infectious Diseases of the EODY carries out a systematic investigation of the diagnosed cases, through communication with the attending physicians and/or through interviews with the patients, in order to determine the characteristics of the disease and the risk factors.

The total number of laboratory- confirmed cases since the start of registration is 50 (all men, median age: 36 years (19-59), of which 16 reported travel abroad during the incubation period of the disease (32%).

The time distribution of laboratory-confirmed cases by week of symptom onset (ISO week) is shown in the following graph.

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