The Rio de Janeiro Municipal Health Department reported having registered 119 cases of mpox in 2024, seven of which were in August. Since 2022, 1,266 cases have been confirmed since 2022, with no deaths recorded. In 2023, there were 142 cases and in the previous year, 1,005.
Caused by the monkeypox virus, the disease can spread between people and occasionally from the environment to people through objects and surfaces that have been touched by an infected patient. In regions where the virus is present among wild animals, the disease can also be transmitted to humans who have contact with infected animals.
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Symptoms
MPox can cause a number of signs and symptoms.
The most common symptom of the disease is a rash that resembles blisters or sores, which can last for two to four weeks. The condition may begin with or be followed by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, listlessness, and swollen glands. The rash may affect the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, groin, genitals, and/or anal areas.
Lesions can also be found in the mouth, throat, anus, rectum, vagina or eyes. The number of sores can vary from one to thousands. Some people also develop inflammation in the rectum, which can cause severe pain, as well as inflammation of the genitals, causing difficulty urinating.
Although some people experience less severe symptoms, others may develop more serious conditions and require care in health facilities.
The virus spreads from person to person through close contact with an infected person, including talking or breathing in close proximity to each other, which can generate short-range droplets or aerosols; skin-to-skin contact, such as touching or vaginal/anal sex; mouth-to-mouth contact; or mouth-to-skin contact, such as oral sex or kissing. During the 2022/2023 global outbreak, the infection spread primarily through sexual contact.
