Despite the short time since the first outbreak occurred in 2022, monkeypox has already reached 71 countries and just over five thousand cases have been reported worldwide. Unfortunately, this July 29, the Brazilian health authorities reported the first recorded death from the disease.
According to a statement shared by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, the death of a 41-year-old man from Uberlandia, a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, who had a weakened immune system due to cancer, was recorded.
News of this person’s death was recorded as the first death to occur outside of Africa in the current outbreak. This death occurred a day after the Ministry of Health announced the creation of an emergency committee to deal with the progress of the disease.
According to the official data registered, until today, Uberlandia has 44 of the 1,066 cases of contagion throughout the country, with São Paulo being the most affected region with 823 cases of monkeypox. According to the balances shared by the World Health Organization (WHO), Brazil is the second country in America with the most smallpox infections, only one position below the United States, which is close to three thousand cases.
It is worth mentioning that this death comes just under a week after the WHO declared the rapidly spreading outbreak a global health emergency.
Given the situation, the Government of Brazil reported that negotiations and talks have begun with the WHO and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in order to acquire some treatment and vaccines to counteract the disease.