The Ministry of Health confirmed this Wednesday (15) the fifth case of monkeypox in Brazil. The news comes less than a week after the country’s first positive diagnosis, when two infected people were reported, one in Sao Paulo and the other in Rio de Janeiro.

Three cases have been reported in Sao Paulo alone – Photo: Reproduction/ND

The first reported case of the virus in the country was a 41-year-old man who returned from a trip to Spain and Portugal – two countries where the outbreak occurred – in Sao Paulo.

Coincidentally, the second case concerns a man who lives in Viñedo, in the interior of São Paulo, and who has also been to both countries. The case was registered on June 11, the patient remains isolated.

A third case has been confirmed in Rio Grande do Sul. A 51-year-old man who, like the first cases in São Paulo, was also in Portugal.

This Wednesday (15) a Brazilian who lives in London tested positive and arrived in Rio de Janeiro on June 11 with symptoms of monkeypox. He sought medical attention from INI/Fiocruz (Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases) the day after his arrival.

In addition to him, by the end of the day, another infected person with five cases of the disease was registered. He is a Sao Paulo resident who has traveled extensively in Europe. He was the third person to test positive in Sao Paulo and is currently in isolation at the Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas.

According to the secretariat, the infected men are healthy. The isolation period is approximately three weeks or after all the scabs on the skin have fallen off.

Monkeypox symptoms can last up to four weeks

All five cases are related to travel abroad, indicating that there is still no community transmission of monkeypox in Brazil.

The WHO (World Health Organization) has already scheduled a meeting with experts next week to decide whether the outbreak should be treated as a public health emergency of international concern. According to the agency, the course of the disease is “unusual and alarming.”

England, Spain and Portugal account for more than half of the cases. However, in other countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Canada, their numbers are on the rise.

Fiocrus named benchmark for disease analysis

Observing the rising number of cases in the country and in the rest of the world, the Ministry of Health has designated the Oswaldo Cruz Institute Enterovirus Laboratory (IOC/Fiocruz) as the reference for the analysis of specimens suspected of monkeypox.

With this appointment, the referral network in the diagnosis of the disease increases. In addition to the Fiocruz laboratory, the network also includes the Ezequiel Dias Foundation in Minas Gerais; the Adolfo Lutz Institute in Sao Paulo; and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro through the laboratories of molecular biology of viruses and molecular virology.

The unit will be responsible for analyzing material collected from the virus in the state of Rio de Janeiro and throughout the Northeast region.

According to Edson Elias, head of the IOC Enterovirus Laboratory, Fiocruz’s experience will help ensure Brazil’s accurate response to the outbreak.

Last week, the lab conducted disease detection testing training with health workers for health workers from Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

How to prevent the disease?

“When these cases appear, it is necessary to evaluate epidemiological links, such as travel and contact with other cases,” says infectious disease specialist Tarcisio Crocomo.

A suspect for the Ministry of Health is a person who, after March 15 of this year, suddenly developed a fever, swollen nodes and a skin rash.

Therefore, attention should be paid to close and prolonged exposure without respiratory protection; direct physical contact (including sexual); or contact with contaminated material, such as clothing or bedding, with a probable or confirmed case of monkeypox.

Disease vaccine eradicated in the 1980s could provide protection against monkeypox — Photo: CDC/Disclosure/ND

Smallpox vaccines used years ago already provide good protection against the virus, Crocomo said, but they are not available and new drugs are being tested.

Transmission of the virus can occur both from animals to humans and between people. From animals to humans, it can be caused by bites or scratches, handling of wild animals, or use of products made from infected animals. Person-to-person transmission occurs primarily through direct contact, such as kissing or hugging, or through infected wounds, crusts, or bodily fluids, and respiratory secretions through prolonged personal contact.

*According to R7 and Agência Brasil.