Rio de Janeiro recorded on Monday morning (29) the first death from monkeypox in the state. The patient, a 33-year-old man, was admitted to the Ferreira Machado hospital in Campos dos Goitacases in northern Rio de Janeiro.

Monkeypox is transmitted by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the orthopoxvirus genus – Photo: Fiocruz/Direitos reservadas/ND

The municipal health department of Campos said that the victim had low immunity and comorbidities that exacerbated the disease.

The patient had complications and had to be transferred to the intensive care unit on the 19th. Campos is monitoring people who have been in contact with the patient, but so far no one has shown signs or symptoms of infection with the virus.

The Rio State Department of Health has counted 611 confirmed cases and 61 probable cases of monkeypox up to this Monday in the state. Another 474 suspicious cases are still under investigation and 751 cases have been rejected.

Since the first suspected case was reported in the state, the SES Health Surveillance Strategic Information Center has been monitoring cases daily in collaboration with the reference laboratories Fiocruz (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz) and UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro). Janeiro) and municipal health departments.

guidelines

Since last week, the Secretariat has been opening sample collection points for testing patients with suspected illness to support medical facilities.

Suspected cases are those in which patients of any age develop a sudden mucosal lesion and/or an acute rash resembling single or multiple monkeypox anywhere on the body. They may also have genital swelling, which may be associated with other signs and symptoms.

Probable cases are those in which the patient has one or more of the criteria listed as:

• close and prolonged exposure without respiratory protection or direct physical contact with multiple and/or unknown partners within 21 days prior to symptom onset;
• contact with contaminated materials, such as bedding, bath linen or personal items from a probable or confirmed case of monkeypox, and health care workers not properly wearing personal protective equipment who had contact with a probable or confirmed case within the previous 21 days onset of symptoms and symptoms.

Although the disease was first identified in monkeys, the current outbreak has nothing to do with these animals.