LISBON – The Portuguese Directorate-General for Health confirmed yesterday the first monkeypox case in a woman in Portugal.
The directorate-general had reported 473 monkeypox cases, all in men, before the latest case were detected. The majority of the cases were reported in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, according to health authorities.
Monkeypox is common in wild animals like rodents and primates, and humans can also get infected with the virus.Symptoms include skin rashes, fever, headache, muscle ache, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. The rash eventually forms a scab, which later falls off, indicating that the person is no longer infectious.
Cases may be severe, especially in children, pregnant women or people with suppressed immune systems. There is no known cure.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the risk of death in those infected ranges from 0 percent to 11 percent, depending on the type of monkeypox and location in the world. Most reported deaths have occurred in young children and people with HIV.
– Xinhua, MPD
