Health News Roundup: Massachusetts identifies first 2022 U.S. case of monkeypox infection; Explainer-Why monkeypox cases are spreading in Europe, US and more

A handful of cases of the virus, which causes fever symptoms and a distinctive bumpy rash, have been reported or are suspected in Britain, Portugal, Spain and the United States. U.S. advisory panel to weigh in on COVID boosters for children An advisory panel to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to recommend COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for children ages 5 to 11, a group that is just 29% vaccinated so far.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Massachusetts identifies first 2022 U.S. case of monkeypox infection

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Wednesday said it had confirmed a single case of monkeypox virus infection in a man who had recently traveled to Canada. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)said its labs confirmed the infection to be monkeypox on Wednesday afternoon.

Explainer-Why monkeypox cases are spreading in Europe, US

A handful of cases of monkeypox have now been reported or are suspected in Britain, Portugal, Spain and the United States. The outbreaks are raising alarm because the viral disease, which spreads through close contact and was first found in monkeys, mostly occurs in west and central Africa, and only very occasionally spreads elsewhere.

Portugal and Spain detect new cases of monkeypox infection

Health authorities in Portugal identified nine new cases of the monkeypox viral infection, taking the total to 14, while in Spain authorities on Thursday reported the first seven cases.

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection similar to human smallpox, though milder. Symptoms include fever, headaches and skin rashes.

Africa has contained monkeypox outbreaks during COVID pandemic - Africa CDC

Several outbreaks of monkeypox in Africa have been contained during the COVID pandemic while the world's attention was elsewhere, and outbreaks in Europe and the United States are a concern, Africa's top public health agency said on Thursday. A handful of cases of the virus, which causes fever symptoms and a distinctive bumpy rash, have been reported or are suspected in Britain, Portugal, Spain and the United States.

U.S. advisory panel to weigh in on COVID boosters for children

An advisory panel to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to recommend COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for children ages 5 to 11, a group that is just 29% vaccinated so far. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized booster doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for those children on Tuesday as COVID cases are on the rise again in the United States.

Britain offers smallpox shot as monkeypox cases spread in Europe

A smattering of monkeypox cases in Britain has prompted authorities to offer a smallpox vaccine to some healthcare workers and others who may have been exposed, as a handful more cases were confirmed in parts of Europe. Monkeypox is a usually mild viral illness, characterized by symptoms of fever as well as a distinctive bumpy rash.

UK moves to ensure abortion services are commissioned in N. Ireland

Britain said on Thursday it planned to legislative action to ensure abortion services were commissioned in Northern Ireland, following what it called "inaction" from the province's health department and its currently devolved executive. "It is absolutely unacceptable that the Executive and Department of Health have failed women and girls, meaning that they cannot currently access the same basic abortion healthcare that is available to women and girls in the rest of the UK," Britain's Northern Ireland minister Brandon Lewis, said.

Some in Shanghai were allowed out to shop; end of COVID lockdown in sight

More Shanghai residents were given the freedom to go out to shop for groceries for the first time in nearly two months on Thursday as authorities set out more plans for exiting the city-wide COVID-19 lockdown more fully. The commercial hub of 25 million recorded no new infections outside quarantined areas for the fifth day in a row, further cementing its "zero COVID" status with each day.

COVID vaccine patents not discussed at G7 health ministers' meeting

The question of COVID-19 vaccine patents was not discussed at a meeting of the health ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Berlin, German Health Ministers Karl Lauterbach said on Thursday. "We haven't discussed the release of patents because the question hasn't come up yet, but that can definitely happen," Lauterbach told a joint news conference with German Development Minister Svenja Schulze.

WHO clears COVID vaccine by China's CanSino Biologics for emergency use

The World Health Organization on Thursday issued an emergency use listing for the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine from China-based CanSino Biologics. The vaccine, Convidecia, is the eleventh shot against the coronavirus to get clearance from the global health agency, whose advisory group recommended its use in people of age 18 years and above.