World

Does Spain’s fake monkeypox victim highlight perils of social media?

Published

2 years ago

August 6, 2022

Does Spain’s fake monkeypox victim highlight perils of social media?

A photograph of a person with a visual pores and skin situation taken throughout rush hour on a prepare in Spain acquired hundreds of likes on Twitter.

The unique Spanish tweet was shared by an alleged physician, insisting the passenger involved had monkeypox and was ignoring public well being pointers.

In response to the physician’s posts, which have now been deleted, the healthcare skilled spoke to the person in query and instructed him to isolate instantly. Nevertheless, the person allegedly instructed the physician that he was solely obligated to put on a masks.

Spanish media investigated the claims and found the person didn’t have monkeypox however neurofibromatosis, a non-contagious genetic dysfunction that causes tumours to kind anyplace on the nervous system.

The Madrid-based publication 20 Minutos tracked down the person within the picture who stated he by no means spoke to the alleged physician on the prepare and that the story had been utterly fabricated.

Since then, the Twitter consumer has switched his profile to non-public.

Spain has 4,577 confirmed circumstances; the very best variety of monkeypox infections in Europe.

The one nation with extra infections than Spain is america, which has reported 7,100 circumstances.

After the put up went viral, neurofibromatosis victims, significantly these with the pressure NF1, have taken to social media to share related tales.

The Dice, Euronews’ social media newsdesk, spoke to TJ Pax Hardy, a discipline epidemiologist based mostly within the US who warned that individuals exterior of the medical occupation are falsely diagnosing plenty of totally different pores and skin circumstances as monkeypox.

“Sure folks have grownup and early onset zits that may appear to be monkeypox and it might probably unfold down the arms.

“Something from rashes to eczema and plaque psoriasis, these are all going to be issues which might be going to resemble monkeypox a method or one other.

“And, in the case of dermatology and pores and skin circumstances, it’s one of many more durable medical fields as a result of you need to slim it down from a bunch of a whole lot of issues.

“And so, what might appear to be monkeypox may very well not be.”

As monkeypox circumstances proceed to rise, misinformation additionally continues to unfold.

Whereas the World Well being Group has known as for the virus to be taken severely, public well being officers have famous that scare-mongering is getting used to additional stigmatise members of traditionally discriminated teams.

The US Centre for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) has pressured that anybody can get monkeypox and is working with healthcare suppliers to make sure that factual data reaches affected communities.

Whereas many circumstances have been recorded amongst homosexual and bisexual males, the CDC maintains that the virus must be a priority for everybody.

What’s extra, authorities warn that focusing the highlight on the homosexual group is problematic and should create a false sense of safety inside heterosexual circles and additional stigmatise marginalised populations.

In response to Hardy, NF1 can’t be cured and there’s no vaccine out there to stop the illness.

Nevertheless, the UK’s Nationwide Well being Service says that therapy and cautious monitoring may help folks with NF1 dwell a full life.

Present therapies embrace physiotherapy, ache administration, surgical procedure to take away tumours and medicines to deal with secondary circumstances reminiscent of hypertension.

Nevertheless, greater than 70% of the world’s monkeypox circumstances have been reported throughout the European area on the finish of July. Because the outbreak spreads, some folks have grow to be warier of contracting the virus.

“Tread flippantly, I believe the one factor that we don’t need to do is be too daring and brazen in our evaluation of different folks,” stated Hardy. “If we see any person and we predict they could have monkeypox, steer clear. Don’t ask questions, don’t attempt to examine the state of affairs, don’t attempt to {photograph} them and put it within the newspaper, simply steer clear,” he added.

For NF1 victims who already face every day stigmatisation, being accused of getting or spreading monkeypox can come at a severe psychological price.

Since Could, the worldwide monkeypox outbreak has seen greater than 26,000 circumstances throughout 90 nations. There have been 103 suspected deaths in Africa, largely in Nigeria and Congo, the place a extra deadly type of monkeypox is spreading than within the West.

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World

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Published

5 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Italian state railways Ferrovie dello Stato plans to invest 1.3 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in a photovoltaic plant with an initial 1 gigawatt (GW) capacity that would cover 19% of its energy needs by 2029, the CEO said in a newspaper interview.

World

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Published

6 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.

The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.

On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.

The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)

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The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.

One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.

In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.

Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.

17 SECRET TRAVEL TIPS FOR FALL AND WINTER THAT AREN’T SO SECRET AFTER ALL

Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.

In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.

Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

CHRISTMAS TREES IN GERMANY WERE DECORATED WITH APPLES INSTEAD OF ORNAMENTS IN THE 1600S FOR ‘ADAM AND EVE DAY’

A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.

The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.

In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.

Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REVEAL THE SURPRISING DAY TO TRAVEL AHEAD OF THE CHRISTMAS RUSH

After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.

Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.

On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.

For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)

Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.

The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.

This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.

Ashlyn Messier is a writer for Fox News Digital.

World

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Published

7 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.

A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.

The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.

Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.

Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.

Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.

“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.

“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”

Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.

The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.