Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Spain, Brazil Report Earliest Monkeypox-Related Deaths


Fri 29 Jul 2022 | 11:49 PM
Rana Atef

On Friday, Spain and Brazil reported the earliest Monkeypox-related deaths which could be the earliest two deaths of the virus outside Africa.

The Spanish Health Ministry announced 4,298 cases were confirmed in the state. and only 120 were hospitalised - and one was died.

The authorities didn't provide any further details about the dead patient.

Regarding the Brazilian death, a 41-year-old man died of Monkeypox according to local authorities.

He suffered from serious immune system problems, and he passed away in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the southeastern Minas Gerais state.

He "was receiving hospital treatment for other serious conditions," the state health ministry said in a statement.

Brazil reported almost 1,000 monkeypox cases, and the majority of cases are confirmed in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states.

More than 18,000 Monkeypox infections were reported across 78 countries, World Health Organization (WHO) Director- General Tedros Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.

Ghebreyesus provided his Moneypox updates as part of his COVID-19 remarks, revealing that there were five Monkeypox deaths, however, 10% of cases are hospitalized.

He said: “This is an outbreak that can be stopped, if countries, communities and inpiduals inform themselves, take the risks seriously, and take the steps needed to stop transmission and protect vulnerable groups,”

“The best way to do that is to reduce the risk of exposure. That means making safe choices for yourself and others.”

According to the WHO, almost 98% of cases are among men who have sex with other men, therefore, the world agency recommended that people need to reduce the same-sex-relationships.

“For men who have sex with men, this includes, for the moment, reducing your number of sexual partners, reconsidering sex with new partners, and exchanging contact details with any new partners to enable follow-up if needed,” he said.

Furthermore, he explained: “The focus for all countries must be engaging and empowering communities of men who have sex with men to reduce the risk of monkeypox infection and onward transmission, to provide care for those infected, and to safeguard human rights and dignity.”