The Ministry of Health said this Friday (29) that it had ordered 50,000 doses of vaccine against monkeypox. The expectation is that about 20 thousand doses arrive in September and the rest in October.
The ministry called on the press to announce the measure hours after the confirmation of the first death caused by the disease in the country. The death recorded in Brazil is also the first outside the African continent in the current outbreak.
The folder states that the objective is to vaccinate health professionals who deal directly with biological samples – such as those who work in laboratories -, and people who have had contact with those infected.
“The WHO [Organização Mundial da Saúde] does not recommend [a vacinação] on a large scale. Basically, it recommends [a vacinação] of health workers, especially those who handle biological samples, and the contacts of infected patients”, stated the secretary of Health Surveillance, Arnaldo Medeiros.
The Ministry of Health also declared that it will investigate the conditions of the patient who died in the country. The cause of death was septic shock aggravated by monkeypox.
The victim is a 41-year-old male with low immunity and comorbidities, including cancer. He was admitted to a public hospital in Belo Horizonte (MG), the city where he lived.
“This is a patient with other relevant comorbidities and we are investigating, at the Ministry of Health, the preponderance of these comorbidities for this outcome”, said the executive secretary of the ministry, Daniel Pereira.
Pereira stressed that the mortality rate is “very low” and that, according to the WHO, there were 5 deaths in front of 20,000 confirmed cases worldwide – the account does not include the death in Brazil.
Until this Thursday (28), Brazil had already registered 1,066 cases of monkeypox in 14 states and the Federal District. Another 513 remain under investigation, while 597 have been discarded.
According to the Ministry of Health, 95% of patients with a confirmed diagnosis are men. The average age is 33 years.
The main symptoms are skin rashes, fever, chills, headache and inflammation of the lymph nodes. Lesions on the foot can be even subtle, with an appearance similar to that of a pimple.
The Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, did not participate in this Friday’s press conference.
“[A morte no Brasil] it has no only local relevance. It also has global relevance”, said Julio Croda, infectious disease physician and president of the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine.
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