Opinion – Esper Kallás: Monkeypox’s surprises

Alongside the increase in the number of cases, knowledge about monkeypox grows and surprises begin to appear.

Although it is a disease described decades ago, which was more restricted to Africa, where resources are very limited, the lack of interest in the virus and its consequences followed the pattern of a disease that was hitherto neglected.

There are already more than 31,000 cases in the world, about 3,000 of them in Brazil. Doctors are seeing more patients arriving with the disease, which suggests the number will continue to grow.

As expected, reports of infection in women and children are already increasing, confirming the predictions of experts. Although the greatest transmission began in men who have sex with men, it was only a matter of time before the spread reached other groups as well. After all, this is the unfolding roadmap for diseases that can be transmitted through sex.

We also know that the transmission of monkeypox does not occur only during sexual intercourse. Cases in children suggest that very close contact indoors can also transmit the virus. Some healthcare workers have also fallen ill after being injured by needles or other materials contaminated with secretions from infected patients.

Recently, the first case of transmission from a person to their pet dog was identified. This fact generated the recommendation to adopt the distancing of pets. Until there are new cases and more studies to understand how domestic animals may be involved, we will not know their real importance in the disease transmission chain.

Apparently, some patients can shed the virus, both from some lesions and from some body fluids, for a longer period of time. This is what happened with a patient identified in Italy, with signs of the virus present in the semen for about three weeks.

Some complications of the disease bring additional concerns. Although deaths are rare, some performances draw attention, depending on the place affected. Some eye injuries, for example, can lead to vision loss. Genital injuries can be very uncomfortable, especially with severe pain.

The wounds caused by the virus can also serve as a gateway for bacteria, increasing the severity of the case. This appears to have been the cause of the first reported death in Brazil. A cancer patient caught monkeypox. He was later diagnosed with a generalized infection, after contamination from some of the skin lesions.

There are few cases in pregnant women. Some have resulted in fetal loss, malformations and children born with the disease, turning the red light on for this group, which deserves special attention.

With the increasing number of cases, it remains for us to study each one with due care. We need to understand the forms of transmission, how long the virus can remain in the body and how long it can be transmitted. We still don’t know what the main complications of the disease are and how we can prevent it from spreading.

Even knowing that there are effective drugs being used in some countries, there is still no treatment available for Brazilians.

Even knowing that there are countries where they are already available, there is no forecast, here, of enough vaccines for the most vulnerable.

Unfortunately, the Brazilian reaction to the new threat does not come as a big surprise. The discussion remains modest, as has been the reaction to the spread of the disease, in the country that ranks fifth in the world in number of cases.