More than 520 close contacts and 150 people who belong to groups at increased risk of infection with the Monkeypox virus have already been vaccinated, reveal data from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), according to which there are 940 confirmed cases in Portugal, 3 of which in Madeira .
The data, published on the DGS website, add that, between 16 July and 9 October, 526 contacts were vaccinated in the context of post-exposure vaccination.
Regarding preventive vaccination, which began on September 20, 150 people had already been vaccinated by October 9, says the health authority, adding that the vaccination process is taking place in the North, Center, Lisbon and Tagus Valley regions. and Algarve, and is also being organized in the remaining regions of the country.
Data from the DGS refer that, since May 3, the day on which the presence of the Monkeypox virus (VMPX) was detected in Portugal, with laboratory confirmation of five cases, until Thursday (October 13), they were detected and confirmed. 940 cases.
As of October 12, 863 cases had been reported to the National Epidemiological Surveillance System (SINAVEmed), most belonging to the age group between 30 and 39 years (43%).
The majority of cases are men (855), with eight reported cases of women, says the DGS, adding that “a deceleration in the notification and, by approximation, of the transmission of the infection has been observed”.
Analyzing the distribution of cases, the DGS reports that all regions of mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Region of Madeira reported infections, of which 662 in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, 175 in the North, 21 in the Center, 15 in the Algarve, seven in the Alentejo. , three in Madeira. There are still seven cases in which the region where they were detected is not specified.