Portugal has passed 200 cases of monkeypox

Today, the Directorate General of Health announced that the cases of monkeypox in Portugal have exceeded 200, with 18 more cases confirmed during the past 24 hours.

To date, 209 human cases of monkeypox virus have been confirmed by the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) in Portugal, reported to the DGS in a statement posted on the website.

All confirmed infections are in men between the ages of 19 and 61, and most are under the age of 40, the health authority says, adding that patients remain under clinical follow-up and are stable.

Most infections have been reported in Lisbon and the Valle do Tejo, but there are also cases in the North and Algarve regions.

The Directorate General of Research says that information collected through epidemiological surveys is analyzed to contribute to the assessment of outbreaks at national and international levels.

The Directorate-General for Democracy continues to monitor the situation at the national level in cooperation with European institutions.

More than 1,000 cases of monkeypox have already been confirmed in 29 non-epidemic countries, the Director-General of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, and warned that there was already community transmission in some areas.

In a document published on the website about the disease, the Directorate General of Light (DGS) advises anyone with symptoms and signs compatible with the disease, especially if they have been in close contact with someone who may be infected, to contact infection testing centers. For sexually transmitted diseases, use emergency services for advice and evaluation or call SNS Line 24 (808 24 24 24).

The DGS explains that infection can be passed from person to person through close physical contact, including sexual contact. The document stresses that “it is not currently known whether monkeypox virus can be transmitted through semen or vaginal fluids, but direct skin-to-skin contact with lesions in sexual practices can transmit it.”

Contact with contaminated personal clothing, bedding, towels, or objects such as cutlery, dishes, or other personal utensils can also transmit infection.

The document states that “people who come into close contact with an infected person, including healthcare professionals, cohabitants, and sexual partners, are therefore at greater risk of transmitting the disease to them.” With the virus, but who have not yet shown any signs or symptoms of infection (and therefore during the incubation period), they can transmit the virus.”

The most common symptoms are fever, severe headache, muscle aches, back pain, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes with a progressive rash affecting the skin and mucous membranes.

Skin lesions typically begin one to three days after the fever appears and may be flat or slightly raised, with a clear or yellowish fluid, and eventually ulcerate and form crusts that later dry and fall off, says the DGS.