To date, Brazil has recorded 3,896 confirmed cases of monkey pox . According to the Ministry of Health, at least one confirmed case was detected in 229 municipalities in the country, with São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais being the states that had the highest number of confirmed cases.
Cases were confirmed in the states of São Paulo (2,528), Rio de Janeiro (445), Minas Gerais (206), Federal District (156), Paraná (21), Goiás (160), Bahia (38), Ceará (29). ), Rio Grande do Norte (18), Espírito Santo (8), Pernambuco (19), Tocantins (1), Acre (1), Amazonas (1), Rio Grande do Sul (61), Mato Grosso do Sul (16 ), Mato Grosso (20), Amazonas (15), Santa Catarina (59), Paraná (104), Pará (6), Tocantins (1), Alagoas (1), Maranhão (2), Paraíba (1) and Piauí (two).
On Monday (22), the ministry released the most recent epidemiological bulletin on monkeypox which presents a balance of the distribution of cases in Brazilian regions and the most common symptoms of the disease.
Among confirmed and probable cases, 93.2% were registered in men. The highest incidence of the disease is among the population aged 18 to 49, which corresponds to 2,979 confirmed and probable cases.
The country has 77 confirmed cases in children and adolescents aged 0 to 17 years, an incidence of 3.5% of infections. Of these, 20 cases (0.6%) were identified among children aged 0 to 4 years.
According to the Ministry of Health, most cases affect individuals who declared themselves to be cis men, with 64% of the records. On the other hand, 24.6% of the patients did not declare their gender.
The bulletin also presents the stratification of cases according to sexual orientation and behavior. However, the two variables analyzed present low filling between confirmed and probable cases, with 69.4% of all records not informed in the orientation variable and 43.2% in the behavior variable.
Among the male cases, 681 (22.7%) declared themselves to be homosexual and 1,489 (49.7%) declared to have sex with men.
In the description of signs and symptoms, the most frequent were: fever (66.8%), enlarged lymph nodes (53.9%), muscle pain (43%) and headache (42.3%).
With regard to information on types and places of contact reported, intimate contact with strangers (692 reports) was the most frequent. Regarding the possible place of contact, social event with sexual intercourse (348 reports) had the highest number of records.
The ministry considers that the filling of these variables was low, which requires more robust data for a better understanding of the epidemiological profile of the disease in the country.
So far, seven pregnant women have been identified among confirmed and probable cases of monkeypox, three in São Paulo, three in Rio de Janeiro and one in Minas Gerais.
Regarding the clinical evolution of the cases, one death was reported, 163 (5.1%) hospitalizations due to clinical needs or for isolation and five (0.2%) admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU).
national campaign
On Monday, the ministry launched the national monkeypox prevention campaign, with the aim of educating the population on the main forms of transmission of the disease. The action brings together recommendations to avoid contagion, symptoms and what to do in case of suspicion.
With the concept “Monkey Smallpox. Stay well with the right information”, the campaign will be broadcast on TV, radio, in places with large circulation of people, in addition to internet portals and social networks.
Symptoms and diagnosis of the disease
Monkeypox, in most cases, progresses without complications and signs and symptoms last from two to four weeks. Clinical manifestations usually include skin lesions in the form of blisters or sores that can appear on different parts of the body, such as the face, hands, feet, eyes, mouth or genitals.
However, the current outbreak of the disease has presented different epidemiological characteristics, with symptoms that can be quite mild, which can make it difficult and delay the proper diagnosis.
In the most common documented form of the disease, symptoms may appear from the seventh day onwards with a sudden and intense fever. Signs such as headache, nausea, exhaustion, tiredness and especially the appearance of swollen glands are common, which can happen both in the neck and in the axillary region as well as in the genital part.
The manifestation on the skin occurs between one and three days after the initial symptoms. The signs go through different stages: macula (small spots), papule (small pimple-like sores), vesicle (small blisters), pustule (bubble with the presence of pus) and crust (which are the healing shells).
The main mode of transmission of smallpox from monkeys is through direct person-to-person contact, called skin-to-skin.
Transmission can happen from direct contact with skin lesions, crusts or body fluids of an infected person, by touching objects, fabrics (clothes, sheets or towels) and surfaces that have been used by someone with the disease, in addition to contact with respiratory secretions.
The Ministry of Health recommends that, in the face of any suspicious symptoms, people should seek medical attention at Basic Health Units (UBSs) or Emergency Care Unit (UPA) for evaluation.
During the consultation, it is important to inform if there has been close contact with someone with suspected or confirmed disease. Based on these records collected during the consultation, the specialist will be able to order a diagnostic test.
Source: CNN Brasil
