A resident of the municipality of Leoberto Leal, the second confirmed case of monkeypox in Santa Catarina, is a 31-year-old truck driver who was on a trip to Minas Gerais and began to feel symptoms upon returning to the state. The case was confirmed last Saturday (16).

Leoberto Leal’s patient was on a trip to Minas Gerais. – Photo: Disclosure / ND

According to the municipal health department, after returning from the trip, the man would not return to Leoberto Leal, but would go straight to the house of his parents, residents of Florianopolis.

“During this period, his wife left Leoberto Leal and went to meet him in Florianopolis, where she took him to the Nereu Ramos hospital for treatment. A few days later in the hospital, the disease was confirmed by the results of the tests.

On July 6, the patient developed fever and pustular eruptions on his head, neck and upper limbs. Health Minister Leoberto Lealya also said that the patient remains in the hospital but is recovering and his family members are in isolation in Florianopolis.

This case is monitored by the epidemiological surveillance of the municipality and the state.

medical advice

Infectologist Ricardo Freitas explains that monkeypox is a type of smallpox, a disease already considered eradicated by the WHO (World Health Organization). “This disease is very similar to chickenpox, which is chickenpox. Since this is a new disease, although it is not, we need to know how it will affect people and especially those people who have some comorbidities, some chronic diseases. How will her body react to this disease?

He also explains that transmission occurs when a person comes into contact with the disease. “Contact with an infected person or animal is necessary. A small animal, a pet, that has this disease can pass it on to us, and we can pass it on to him,” he says.

The doctor advises that if any small bullous skin lesion is suspected, the health service should be contacted to find out whether it is smallpox or chickenpox.

Cases in Santa Catarina

Until Tuesday evening (19), there were 14 notifications of suspected monkeypox in the state. Of these, eight were thrown out; four are under investigation; and two were confirmed.

The first confirmed case was in Florianopolis: a 40-year-old man from São Paulo. He recently spent time in Spain. After that, he spent several days in Florianopolis, but, according to the State Department of Health, the man has already been discharged and returned to Sao Paulo.