Data published by the WHO (World Health Organization) show that more than 50,000 cases of monkeypox, also called monkeypox, have been recorded since the beginning of an epidemic that mainly affected North America and Europe, but also affected Brazil.

According to the organization’s panel, which records all confirmed cases, there were 50,496 cases and 16 deaths today. In the United States, as in Europe, the number of infections is declining. On July 23, WHO declared monkeypox a global health emergency. On August 4, US health officials and the administration of President Joe Biden declared the disease a public health emergency in the country.

According to the Ministry of Health, Brazil notified 4,876 patients who had this type of smallpox until yesterday. The states with the most cases are São Paulo (2,941), Rio de Janeiro (645), Minas Gerais (277), Federal District (189), Goiás (222).

This week, Brazil suffered its second death from the disease in Rio de Janeiro. According to SES (State Health Department), the 33-year-old patient was admitted to Ferreira Machado Hospital in Campos dos Goytacazes. The man had comorbidities and low immunity, which worsened the condition and took him to the intensive care unit (Intensive Care Unit). The Ministry of Health also confirmed the death.

The first recorded death in the country occurred on 28 July in Minas Gerais. According to the State Department of Health, a 41-year-old man from Uberlândia (MG) died in a hospital in Belo Horizonte.

“Suspicious” Death in the USA

Yesterday, the United States reported possibly the first death related to monkeypox. The case occurred in an immunocompromised patient in Texas.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was “watching the monkeypox epidemic closely” and that it was “too premature to assign a specific cause of death” to the suspected case.

Anvisa tests and approved the vaccine

Anvisa (National Health Oversight Agency) this week authorized two types of molecular tests to identify smallpox in monkeys. The decision is “urgent and urgent” for the kits of the Bio-Manguinhos unit from Fiocruz (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz).

The permit is at the joint request of the Health Surveillance Secretariat, part of the Ministry of Health, and the Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz Institute.

The agency noted that the tests are “still being analyzed for registration approval” and that “to date, there are no commercial diagnostic tests with an approved registration at Anvisa.”

Factors that led to the decision to perform testing on an emergency basis include the “current emergency epidemiological situation of monkeypox infection in Brazil”, the limited response of laboratories, disease monitoring strategies, and the “risk associated with delay in diagnosis”. Concerning the spread of the disease in the country”.

On Friday, 26th, Anvisa approved an exemption from registration for the Ministry of Health to import and use the Jynneos/Imvanex vaccine against monkeypox in Brazil. The agency granted the same permission for the drug Tecovirimat, which is used to treat the disease.

How is transmission and what are the symptoms of ‘monkey pox’?

The Ministry of Health launched an awareness campaign about the disease on the 22nd, informing the public about the transmission, transmission, symptoms and prevention of “monkey pox”.

Below are the most common symptoms of the disease:

• Fire;
• Strong Headache;
• Swelling in the lymph nodes (popularly known as “ingua”);
• Back pain;
• Muscle pains;
• Intense lack of energy.

Transmission occurs, in most cases, through physical skin-to-skin contact with lesions or bodily fluids, but can also occur through objects contaminated by an infected person. It is important to remember that the disease affects everyone, regardless of sexuality, age or race.

*with information from AFP