The first deaths, outside Africa, of people infected with monkeypox were announced on Friday July 29, a few hours apart, by Spain and Brazil, without it being known whether the virus is indeed there. origin of these two deaths.
The deaths of two patients in Spain and Brazil bring the number of deaths recorded globally since May to seven, with the first five reported in Africa, where the disease is endemic and was first detected in humans. in 1970.
In Brazil, a 41-year-old man, carrier of smallpox, died Thursday in Belo Horizonte, in the south-east of the country, announced Friday the Secretary of State for Health of the State of Minas Gerais. It was ” hospital follow-up for other serious clinical conditions “, According to the press release. “ It is important to emphasize that he had serious comorbidities, so as not to cause panic in the population. Mortality [liée à cette maladie] remains very low said Minas Gerais Health Secretary Fábio Baccheretti, who explained that the patient was undergoing cancer treatment.
In Spain, the Ministry of Health announced on Friday the first death of a patient infected with this disease, a first in Europe, without specifying either the cause or the date of death. With 4,298 cases recorded, Spain is one of the countries with the most cases in the world.
July 24, the World Health Organization (WHO) had triggered the highest level of alertthe Public Health Emergency of International Concern (USPPI), to strengthen the fight against monkeypox, also called monkeypox virus.
More than 18,000 cases detected worldwide
According to the WHO, more than 18,000 cases have been detected worldwide since the beginning of May outside endemic areas in Africa. The disease has been reported in 78 countries and 70% of cases are concentrated in Europe and 25% in the Americas, the organization’s director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Wednesday. About 10% of cases require hospital admission to try to alleviate the pain that patients are experiencing.
In most cases, the patients are men who have sex with men, relatively young and living mainly in towns. The first symptoms are high fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash similar to chickenpox.
On Wednesday, the WHO clearly advised the group most affected by the disease – men who have sex with men – to reduce the number of sexual partners. The best way to protect yourself is to reduce the risk of being exposed to the disease, explained the director general of the WHO, during a press briefing in Geneva.
Monkeypox is not currently considered a sexually transmitted disease and anyone can contract it. Direct skin-to-skin contact, but also infected sheets or clothing are vectors of transmission of the disease. The WHO also strongly emphasizes the need to avoid any stigmatization of a specific community, which could lead its members to hide the disease, not seek treatment and continue to spread it.
(With AFP)