A total of 37 cases of Mpox virus infection have been detected in Portugal since June, a new outbreak of the disease registered in the Lisbon region and the Tagus Valley, announced the General Directorate of Health (DGS).
“After three months without new cases of mpox being reported in Portugal, 37 new cases have been confirmed since June 19, 2023,” says a statement published on the DGS website about this outbreak of the disease formerly known as monkeypox.
According to the data now released, 12 cases of contagion were confirmed between June 12 and 30 and the remaining 25 cases between July 1 and 20.
These new cases refer to men residing in the Lisbon region and the Tagus Valley, most of them aged between 20 and 40 years. The General Directorate also recommends compliance with the previously defined guidelines to interrupt transmission chains and for the protection of the most vulnerable.
In May, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the international public health emergency for mpox disease, the highest level of alert that had been in place since July 2022.
The latest data from the DGS, available on June 30, indicated that Portugal had identified 965 confirmed cases of Mpox since May 3, 2022, when the presence of the virus was detected in Portugal, also recording one death.
According to the WHO, between January 1, 2022 and July 11, a total of 88,288 cases were reported to the organization in 112 countries and territories and 149 deaths.
The most common symptoms of infection are fever, severe headache, muscle aches, back pain, fatigue, enlarged lymph nodes with the progressive appearance of rashes that affect the skin and mucous membranes.
The virus is transmitted by close physical contact, that is, with wounds or bodily fluids, or by contact with contaminated material, such as sheets, towels, or personal utensils.
Source: TSF
