Portugal Reports 5 Confirmed Monkeypox Cases

Five cases of human contamination with monkeypox have been identified in Portugal, the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) announced on Wednesday

LISBON, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th May, 2022 ) :Five cases of human contamination with monkeypox have been identified in Portugal, the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) announced on Wednesday.

Margarida Tavares, director of the National Program for Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV Infection at the DGS, admitted that it is already an "outbreak," as there is an increase in cases "above what is expected." Speaking at a press conference, the director said that the confirmed cases are all male and from the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, having been detected in clinics that treat sexually transmitted diseases.

On the other hand, the Portuguese health authorities admitted that they still do not know the origin of the infections, nor if there are any relationships between the cases.

Tavares confirmed that this is the first time that an outbreak of monkeypox has been identified in Portugal and that the DGS is "monitoring the evolution because these are very recent cases."According to information from the television channel CNN Portugal, a hospital source reported that there are another 20 suspected cases of the disease being investigated.

Monkeypox is a rare disease that is caused by infection with monkeypox virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday reported two confirmed cases of monkeypox in the United Kingdom.