More than 3,500 people have been vaccinated against monkeypox since July 2022.

Since July 2022, more than 3,500 people have been vaccinated against monkeypox, a contagious disease that infected 953 people in Portugal last year, according to data released this Thursday by the Directorate General of Health (DGS).

When the first five confirmed cases of smallpox appeared in Portugal a year later, the DGS stepped up the call for vaccination against the infection before participating in festivals and public events in the spring and summer, emphasizing the importance of double vaccination. as one of the most effective measures to protect against infection and the most severe forms of the disease.

Exactly one year ago, the first press release was published on the first five confirmed cases in Portugal, with the creation of a section dedicated to this disease on the DGS website, which brings together various technical papers, daily, weekly and monthly reports, promotional materials and an updated section ” Questions and answers”.

On that day, the DGS briefed public and private health officials and the public health network on the alert, emphasizing the importance of early detection of any suspected cases in order to guarantee a reporting system that was first sent by “e-mail” and then moved to digital form and finally integrated the National Epidemiological Surveillance System (SINAVE), recalls the SRS.

Here are some of the “highlights” that the DGS recalls in a note titled “The Year of Monkeypox: A Brief Journey of Timely Response”, given that Portugal was the second country to report cases caused by the smallpox virus. (VMPX), an outbreak that went global.

It also emphasizes “permanent articulation” throughout this year with institutions and international partners.

Through its Outbreak Control and Response Team, the DGS follows “real-time” developments in the global epidemiological situation, as well as key international recommendations, assessing risks in the national context and adapting and updating guidelines and standards in line with the latest scientific data, which also contributes to the accumulation of international knowledge through the first publications in scientific journals about the outbreak (Eurosurveillance and Nature Medicine).

On 23 July 2022, the WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) based on the decisions of the WHO Committee on Emergency Situations. cases and no change in the severity and clinical manifestations of the disease, as well as the availability of vaccines.

However, WHO stresses the need for countries to maintain their surveillance, prevention and control capabilities, with particular attention to adequate responses for the highest-risk groups.

Currently, the epidemiological situation in the world is on a downward trend: from January 1, 2022 to May 15, 2023, 87,479 confirmed cases and 1,095 probable cases were registered in 111 countries, including 140 deaths.

Last month, the majority of new cases were in the Americas (49%) and the Western Pacific Region (36.4%).

Portugal has also seen a decline in new cases in recent months and no new cases have been identified since March 27.

Of the 892 cases with additional information available on SINAVE, most of them are between the ages of 30 and 39 and are male, while nine cases are female (1%).

All regions of mainland Portugal and Madeira reported cases, of which 687 (77%) were reported in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, where the largest number of people were vaccinated. In April, the death of a 23-year-old man, “HIV-positive, non-adherent to antiretroviral therapy, and severely immunosuppressed, who had a rare condition of progressive and disseminated disease,” was confirmed dead.