New case of monkeypox confirmed in Brazil

Brazil’s Ministry of Health stated Thursday (Jun 16) that another case of monkeypox was reported in the country. The case was confirmed in São Paulo, after a test was conducted at the Adolfo Lutz Institute.

The patient is a 28-year-old man who lives in Indaiatuba, São Paulo state, and was in Europe recently. He is under isolation, clinically stable, and shows no complications. The case is monitored by the municipal and state health departments.

Thus far, six cases have been confirmed in Brazil—four in São Paulo, one in Rio Grande do Sul, and one in Rio de Janeiro. Thirteen suspected cases are being investigated.

Monkeypox is a disease caused by a virus, transmitted by close or intimate contact with an infected person with skin lesions.

This contact, health authorities say, may occur through hugging, kissing, massaging, sexual intercourse, or respiratory secretions. The transmission also takes place via objects, fabrics (clothes, bed linen, towels), and surfaces touched by someone sick.

No specific treatment exists, but, clinical conditions are usually mild and require lesions to be taken care of and monitored. The greatest risk of a worsening scenario is observed among immunosuppressed people with HIV/AIDS, leukemia, lymphoma, metastasis, people who have undergone transplants, people with autoimmune diseases, pregnant and nursing women, and children under eight.