A total of 37 cases of mpox virus infection have been detected in Portugal since June, a new outbreak of the disease recorded in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, announced the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).
“After three months without new cases of mpox 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 infection were confirmed between June 12 and 30 and the remaining 25 cases between July 1 and 20.
These new cases refer to men living in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, mostly aged between 20 and 40 years, the general direction also advances, which recommends compliance with the guidelines previously defined to interrupt the chains of transmission and to protect the most vulnerable.
In May, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the international public health emergency for mpox disease, the highest alert level that had been in place since July 2022.
The latest data from the DGS, made 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 registering one death.
According to the WHO, between January 1, 2022 and July 11, a total of 88,288 cases in 112 countries and territories and 149 deaths were reported to the organization.
The most common symptoms of the infection are fever, severe headache, muscle aches, back pain, tiredness, enlarged lymph nodes with the progressive appearance of rashes affecting the skin and mucous membranes.
The virus is transmitted by close physical contact, including with lesions or body fluids, or by contact with contaminated material such as bed sheets, towels or personal utensils.
