The Ministry of Health (Minsal) pointed out that, from June 17 to August 18, 2022, 210 cases of monkeypox are reported in Chile; 207 confirmed cases and 3 probable cases. According to the health authority, another 131 cases that have entered surveillance were ruled out by the Institute of Public Health (ISP) by the polymerase chain reaction technique.
Of the total confirmed and probable cases, 93.8% reside in the Metropolitan region, 1.4% in the Antofagasta region, and 1.4% in the La Araucanía region. In addition, other regions that have presented cases are Coquimbo, Valparaíso, O’Higgins and Los Lagos.
Most of the cases, according to the Minsal, are concentrated in the urban area of the Metropolitan region, with the commune of Santiago standing out as the one with the largest number of cases.
In detail, the cases occur between 17 and 63 years, with a median of 34 years. The group that concentrates the largest number of cases is that between 30 and 39 years old, followed by those between 20 and 29 years old.
In terms of sex, 99% of cases correspond to men.
13% of the cases have a history of having made an international trip during the last 21 days, while 15% were able to determine their epidemiological link with another confirmed case. 71% are under epidemiological investigation to determine the place of exposure.
Regarding the clinical presentation, among the signs and symptoms, 98.6% presented acute rash, 63.3% anogenital skin/mucous lesions, 56.2% myalgia, 55.7% lymphadenopathy, 53.3% % headache, and 52.9% fever over 38.5°.
Since May 13, 2022, the WHO has alerted countries to the increase in cases of monkeypox, a rash disease of zoonotic origin originating in central and western regions of Africa that, in an unusual way, has been circulating in countries non-endemic, mainly in Europe and later in the rest of the continents. The WHO/PAHO reported as of August 19 a total of 39,110 confirmed cases in 94 countries. For its part, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 40,399 cases as of August 18 in 94 countries.
