Brazil confirmed the first case of monkeypox in its territory

The Brazilian authorities confirmed this Wednesday, June 8, the first case of monkeypox in Brazil. Everything seems to indicate that it is suffered by a 41-year-old man who traveled from Spain to South America, however, he is isolated in a hospital in the city of São Paulo.

Meanwhile, according to the press in that country, The state of health of a 26-year-old woman is being vehemently monitored who, in the same way, is hospitalized and is believed to have contracted the virus. In Brazil they currently have seven people under observation, on suspicion of acquiring smallpox.

Monkeypox and the possibility of it settling in non-endemic countries is “real,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday, after registering 1,000 cases.

“The risk of monkeypox taking hold in non-endemic countries is real, but this scenario can be avoided”, said the director general of the organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at a press conference.

Tedros encouraged countries to increase their health surveillance measures to “identify all cases and contact cases to control this outbreak and prevent contagion. More than 1,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox have already been reported to the WHO in 29 countries where the disease is not endemic,” said the director general.

No disease was reported to the WHO for that disease, the organization added, unlike countries where the virus is endemic, such as Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tedros stressed that these countries deserve “the same attention, the same care and the same access to the tools to protect themselves” from the disease.

“No deaths have been reported in those countries, but many cases have been reported, not only among men who have sex with men, but there are already cases of community transmission and infected women”, said Tedros, who expressed his “concern” because the virus spreads to vulnerable groups, such as children or pregnant women.

The vast majority of cases reported so far have been in “men who have sex with men”, but some cases of community transmission, including in women, have been reported.

Sylvie Briand, director of the department of pandemic and epidemic diseases at the WHO, stressed that “the smallpox vaccine can be used for monkeypox with a high level of efficacy.”

However, the WHO does not know how many doses are currently available worldwide. Tedros reiterated that the organization “does not recommend mass vaccination against monkeypox.” Monkeypox, which is not usually fatal, can cause fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and fatigue.

Rashes (on the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet), lesions, pustules, and finally scabs then appear. Your symptoms usually go away within two to three weeks.

*With information from AFP and Europa Press.

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