And she explained, that the health authorities in the Canary Islands are conducting investigations into the involvement of the Maspalomas Pride festival in spreading “monkeypox” in the world, noting that thousands of people from Britain and all over Europe were among the participants.
And she added, “A number of cases that were confirmed to be infected with monkeypox virus in Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the United States, were those who attended the ceremony.”
Maspalomas Pride, which takes place from 5 to 15 May, attracts tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world.
It is believed that after the festival participants returned to their countries, they transmitted the disease and spread it among people, a hypothesis that is currently being investigated.
A health source told the Spanish newspaper, El Pais: “Of the about 30 people diagnosed with the virus in Madrid, many of them were present at this event. It is not yet possible to know if one of them is patient zero or that they have all been infected there. “.
These developments come at a time when Archyde.com revealed that some, but not all, of the people diagnosed with the disease in the current outbreak of monkeypox are gay men.
For its part, the UK’s Health Security Agency said that a significant proportion of recent cases detected in Britain and Europe involved “homosexual and bisexual men”.
World Health Organization officials have expressed concern that a greater number of infections may appear as people gather for festivals, parties and holidays, during the coming summer months, in Europe and other regions.
Experts say the disease, which was first discovered in monkeys, can be transmitted from person to person through close physical contact, as well as sexual contact.