MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Monkeypox awareness campaign launched in Brazil

The content of these campaigns needs to be approved by the Electoral Justice to avoid undue political gain, Queiroga also explained

Brazil's Health Ministry Monday launched an awareness campaign on monkeypox, to inform the population about transmission, contagion, and symptoms of the malady.

Under the motto “Monkey Pox: Get Well with the Right Information,” the Ministry of Health launched Monday in Brasilia the National Campaign for the Prevention of the disease to make the population aware of the transmission, infection, symptoms, and prevention. The initiative includes tips on what to do when monkeypox is suspected.

Over 41,500 cases of the disease have been registered worldwide. In Brazil, according to the data from August 21, there were 3,788 confirmed infections.
The new campaign warns that the main form of prevention is to avoid contact with infected people or contaminated objects, such as cups, cutlery, sheets, and towels.

The authorities also highlighted that the incubation phase of the virus can last from 5 to 21 days, during which it is possible to have transmission. As per the recorded cases, contagion occurs, especially through physical skin-to-skin contact with lesions or body fluids.

In infected people, fever, skin rashes, swollen glands (swelling of the tongue), body aches, exhaustion, and chills are the most common symptoms.

Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga pointed out that there is no specific treatment for the disease but it does not mean there is no treatment at all. According to Queiroga, symptoms such as pain can be alleviated with specific measures. He also discussed the difference between monkeypox and COVID-19.

“The lethality of this disease is low. The virus is different. The COVID-19 virus is the RNA virus. So it is the virus that mutates more frequently whereas the DNA virus [of monkeypox] has a lower potential to mutate, which fools even vaccines that are developed with sophisticated technologies,” he explained.

The Ministry of Health started last month negotiations with the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and the WHO for the purchase of 50,000 doses of vaccine against the disease. “It is necessary that a contract be signed by the Ministry of Health with PAHO, to make this very clear so that we have a forecast for the delivery of these vaccines. The forecast was that they would be delivered at the end of August. Socorro [Gross, representative of PAHO] informed me that it would be the beginning of September. There would be two shipments, but now there are three. There is a shortage of this input worldwide,” Queiroga went on.

Last Friday, the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) authorized the exceptional import of medicines and vaccines that are still unregistered in Brazil. The first of three shipments is due in early September. About these immunizers, Marcelo Queiroga explained that since the complete immunization requires two doses, they will be enough to vaccinate 25 thousand people. First to receive the vaccine will be health care professionals who work directly with the virus.

As with vaccines, since there is no representative of the antiviral in Brazil, the Ministry of Health also requested PAHO to purchase 10 doses of tecovirimat for immediate treatment, and another 50 units for severe cases. The ministry is also negotiating 12 more units donated by the producer laboratory, and the purchase of 504 more doses.

The campaign launch Monday comes after Justice Edson Fachin of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) authorized the federal government to run advertisements on the theme until August 30.

Brazilian electoral legislation forbids any institutional publicity that may configure the abusive use of the public machinery for the promotion of rulers during the three months before the elections, so it needed to be analyzed by the Electoral Justice. In his decision, Fachin pointed out that the campaign is of public interest. Also according to Fachin's ruling, all campaign material must be posted on a specific page about monkeypox.

Queiroga said he was still waiting for clearance from the TSE to record a broadcast with technical information about monkeypox for the population.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)