The Epidemiological Surveillance Unit of the Municipal Department of Health of the City of Macae in Rio de Janeiro is investigating the case of a 43-year-old man with suspected monkeypox (monkeypox) starting from Wednesday (8).

In Sao Paulo, the government has updated the health status of two patients who have already been confirmed to have the disease.

Two cases of monkeypox have already been confirmed in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro is investigating the first suspect – Photo: Telam/Reprodução/ND

The case in Macae is a worker on an oil rig in the Campos Basin who returned last Wednesday (8) with symptoms of illness.

A note from the Macae Department of Health states that “it is awaiting the release of a technical report on the tests carried out by the UFRJ Molecular Virology Laboratory (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) on patient samples.”

According to the Secretariat, the forecast is that the diagnosis will be published this Monday (13). “Patient samples are also analyzed by Lasen (Noel Nutels Central Laboratory) of the State Department of Health.”

The secretary’s certificate also states that the patient’s state of health is stable. The state surveillance service reports that “it supports the Macae municipal surveillance service in monitoring. So far there are no cases monkeypox confirmed in Rio de Janeiro.

Two cases in Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo has already confirmed two cases of the disease. The first was confirmed on Thursday (9) and the second on Saturday (11). the patients, aged 29 and 49, were diagnosed with the virus and had recently traveled to Portugal and Spain.

According to the São Paulo Health Department, “two patients are in good condition and isolated, one of them is at the Emilio Ribas Infectious Medicine Institute and the other is at home in the capital of São Paulo.”

disease and symptoms

Monkeypox is a viral disease transmitted by contact with infected people or skin lesions. Hugging, kissing, massage, contact with contaminated objects or secretions from the respiratory tract can transmit the infection.

There is no specific treatment for this disease, but the conditions are usually mild and require care and monitoring of the lesions. In order to avoid infection, it is necessary not to have close contact with patients until the skin lesions heal.

The first symptoms are usually fever, headache, muscle and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills, or fatigue. One to three days after the onset of symptoms, patients develop skin lesions, usually in the mouth, feet, chest, face, and/or genitals.

*According to Agência Brasil.