MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Number of monkeypox cases in Brazil reaches 106

Brazil's Health Ministry is monitoring the spread of the disease through its Center for Strategic Information in Health Surveillance (CIEVS National).

Brazilian health authorities Wednesday confirmed the number of confirmed cases of monkeypox nationwide had reached 106, with 75 of them in São Paulo and 20 in Rio de Janeiro.

In Minas Gerais, there were three cases of the disease. In Ceará, Paraná, and Rio de Grande do Sul there were two cases in each state. There was also confirmation of infection by the virus in the Federal District and in Rio Grande do Norte, with one case each.

The Health Ministry pointed out that it continued to work directly with the states to monitor the cases and track the patients' contacts through the Situation Room and the Center for Strategic Information in Health Surveillance (CIEVS National).

The hMPXV virus (Human Monkeypox Virus) causes a milder disease than smallpox, which was eradicated in the 1980s. It is a rare viral disease transmitted by close contact with an infected person with skin lesions. Contact can be through hugging, kissing, massaging, or sexual intercourse. The disease is also transmitted by respiratory secretions and by contact with objects, fabrics (clothes, bed linen, or towels), and surfaces used by the sick person.

There is no specific treatment for the malady, but the clinical conditions are usually mild, although care and observation of the lesions remain necessary. The greatest risk of worsening affects immunosuppressed patients with HIV/AIDS, leukemia, lymphoma, metastasis, and people who have received an organ transplant or have autoimmune diseases, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women, and children under 8 years old.

The first symptoms can be fever, headache, muscle and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, or tiredness. One to three days after the onset of symptoms, people develop skin lesions, usually on the mouth, feet, chest, face, and or genital regions.

As a precaution, close contact with infected people should be avoided until all wounds have healed, as well as with any material that has been used by the patient, in addition to constant hand washing with soap and water or alcohol gel.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)