Brazil has 8th death from monkeypox and is the country with the most deaths from the disease

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Brazil recorded the eighth death from monkeypox and, as a result, ranks as the country with the highest number of deaths from the disease in the current outbreak worldwide.

According to the Minas Gerais State Health Department, a 33-year-old man with comorbidity, a resident of Divinópolis, died last Saturday (22). He was hospitalized in Belo Horizonte.

Thus, the state of Minas Gerais has, in total, three deaths recorded. It was there that the first death from the disease in the country occurred, at the end of July.

The folder added that there is also a suspicion of a fourth death caused by the disease and this case is still under investigation.

Until then, the country had the highest number of monkeypox deaths outside Africa. On that continent, Nigeria listed seven deaths, a number that Brazil had recorded since October 15, when the seventh death occurred in a private hospital in Santos, on the coast of São Paulo.

Some early symptoms of monkeypox are fever, malaise, and body aches. After that, the appearance of lesions on the patient’s body is common. Transmission occurs mainly in contact with these wounds. Although rarer, another form of transmission is through the airways.

Deaths from the disease are rare and occur mainly in higher risk groups, such as children and immunosuppressed patients.

Vaccination is a tool to prevent new cases of the disease and, consequently, prevent possible new deaths. So far, Brazil has acquired around 50,000 doses, but it only has 9,800 in national territory – they arrived in the country on October 4th.

The Ministry of Health chose to carry out a study, in partnership with the WHO and Fiocruz, to measure the effectiveness of the vaccine in real life. The population eligible to receive the first doses would be those who have had exposure to a confirmed or suspected case of monkeypox. People who are being treated for HIV or who are adept at Prep (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) also make up the primary group.

While the target audience has already been defined, the application sites are under analysis by the ministry. According to the ministry, the selection criteria consider cities with high cases of monkeypox and the availability of infrastructure to carry out the research.

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