Up to 27 May 2022, Portugal has detected 96 confirmed cases of monkeypox. We describe 27 confirmed cases (median age: 33 years (range: 22–51); all males), with an earliest symptom onset date of 29 April. Almost all cases (n = 25) live in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley health region. Most cases were neither part of identified transmission chains, nor linked to travel or had contact with symptomatic persons or with animals, suggesting the possible previously undetected spread of monkeypox.

Following the report of a non-travel-associated cluster of monkeypox cases by the United Kingdom in May 2022, 41 countries across the WHO European Region have reported 21,098 cases and two deaths by 23 August 2022. Nowcasting suggests a plateauing in case notifications. Most cases (97%) are MSM, with atypical rash-illness presentation. Spread is mainly through close contact during sexual activities. Few cases are reported among women and children. Targeted interventions of at-risk groups are needed to stop further transmission.

VON HAFE, PEDRO, FRANCISCO PINA, ANA PÉ REZ, MARGARIDA TAVARES, AND HENRIQUE BARROS. Visceral fat accumulation as a risk factor for prostate cancer. Obes Res. 2004;12:1930 -1935. Objective: No clear association between obesity or body fat distribution and prostate cancer has been shown. We investigated the relation between visceral fat accumulation as measured by computed tomography (CT) and the occurrence of prostate cancer. Research Methods and Procedures:We compared body fat distribution assessed by a direct method (CT) in 63 prostate cancer cases with 63 age-matched healthy community controls. A CT scan at the level of the fourth lumbar vertebra was performed in all participants. Results: Patients presented a significantly higher mean total abdominal fat area (509.2 Ϯ 226.1 vs. 334.3 Ϯ 132.9 cm 2 , p Ͻ 0.001), mostly because of a higher mean visceral fat area (VF; 324.7 Ϯ 145.6 vs. 177.4 Ϯ 88.4 cm 2 , p Ͻ 0.001) and a significantly higher mean ratio between visceral and subcutaneous fat areas (V/S ratio; 1.8 Ϯ 0.4 vs. 1.2 Ϯ 0.4, p Ͻ 0.001). A significantly higher risk of prostate cancer was found for participants with higher VF (odds ratio ϭ 4.6; 95% confidence interval ϭ 2.6 to 8.2 per SD increase) and V/S ratio (odds ratio ϭ 6.0; 95% confidence interval ϭ 2.3 to 11.0 per SD increase). Discussion: These results suggest a role for visceral obesity, quantified by CT, as a risk factor for prostate cancer. The action of the adipocytokines secreted by visceral fat cells, steroid hormone disturbances, and increased levels of insulin or other hormones noted in visceral obesity may explain this association.