A video circulating on social networks shows a patient from Itaguaí (RJ), suspected of monkeypox, complaining of pain, fever and blisters that appear on the body. The woman – whose identity has not been released – was treated at the city hospital and remains in home isolation under surveillance.
In total, Brazil has eight confirmed cases of monkeypox: four in São Paulo, two in Rio Grande do Sul and two in Rio de Janeiro.
“Yesterday I went to [Hospital] San Francisco [Xavier]with suspicion of smallpox [dos macacos]. My face is very aggressive, with glands, here on the neck and a little lower. I’m in terrible pain, I have a lot of fever, a lot of headaches and these blisters hurt,” she said in the recording.
“I’m still waiting for the results of the exams that went to Rio,” he added.
In an interview with the local site “Atual”, the woman said she started feeling the first symptoms on June 14. She says she works in a hotel in the Costa Verde region, known for receiving a considerable number of foreign tourists, but that she has not come to work for more than a month.
The patient said she was taking dipyrone and deocil to minimize pain. Health professionals went to her house, this Monday (20), to collect material and send it to the Oswaldo Cruz Institute for analysis.
In a note to UOLthe City Hall of Itaguaí said that the case of this patient is already under investigation and that all containment and control measures have been adopted.
“The Ministry of Health has already officially communicated with the state health authorities,” he said.
The state health department said “case tracking is being done by municipal surveillance with support from state surveillance.”
“The patient is a 25-year-old woman who is currently in home isolation,” he said.
How contamination occurs
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease transmitted by close/intimate contact with an infected person with skin lesions. This contact can be made, for example, through hugs, kisses, massages, sexual intercourse or close and prolonged respiratory secretions.
“Transmission also occurs through contact with objects, fabrics (clothing, bedding or towels) and surfaces that have been used by the patient. There is no specific treatment, but in general the clinical pictures are benign and require care and observation of the lesions”, informed the government of São Paulo, in a note.
Prevention
- Avoid close/intimate contact with the ill person until all wounds have healed;
- Avoid contact with any material, such as bedding, that has been used by the sick person;
- Hand hygiene, wash them with soap and water and/or use hydroalcoholic gel.
Know the Symptoms
The first symptoms may be fever, headache, muscle and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills or fatigue. One to three days after the onset of these symptoms, people develop skin lesions that may be on the hands, mouth, feet, chest, face, and/or genital areas.
The risk of death is low
Monkeypox can be deadly, but the risk is low. There are two distinct groups of disease viruses circulating in the world, grouped according to their genetic characteristics: one mainly in central African countries – with a mortality rate of around 10% – and another circulating in Africa West, with a much lower rate. ., from 1 %.
The still nascent genomic surveillance shows that the virus circulating outside the African continent is the least lethal.
Complications can occur, especially secondary bacterial infections of the skin or lungs, which can progress to sepsis and death or spread of the virus to the central nervous system, generating a state of severe brain inflammation called encephalitis, which can have serious sequelae or lead to death. .
Additionally, as with any acute viral illness, depending on the patient’s immune status and conditions and their access to adequate medical care, some cases may result in death.
The smallpox vaccine protects
Studies show that prior vaccination against smallpox can be up to 85% effective against monkeypox. This is because both viruses belong to the same family and therefore there is a degree of cross-protection due to the genetic homology between them.
However, because smallpox was eradicated more than 40 years ago, no vaccine is currently available to the general public. On the 14th, the WHO began to recommend vaccination against smallpox, but only for priority groups, i.e. for people who had contact with those who have the disease and health professionals. .
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