The country’s health ministry confirmed the death on Friday, but did not provide further details about the person. Brazil reported the first monkeypox-related death outside the African continent in the current outbreak earlier Friday. In its latest report, the Spanish Ministry of Health reported that 4,298 cases have been confirmed in the country. Of the 3,750 patients it had information on, it said 120 had been hospitalized – representing 3.2 percent – and one had died, without elaborating. The Brazilian victim was a 41-year-old man who, according to the country’s health ministry, also suffered from lymphoma and a weakened immune system. “Comorbidities worsened his condition,” the ministry said, adding that the patient was treated in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte and died of septic shock after being transferred to the intensive care unit. Earlier this month, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a “global health emergency”. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference that while the risk worldwide was “moderate”, in Europe it was “high”. Read more: New monkeypox symptoms found, including mouth sores NHS scales up monkeypox vaccination program as more cases are confirmed Fashion blogger Maxim Sapozhnikov reveals symptoms after testing positive The WHO statement is designed to spark an international response to the outbreak, which could unlock funding and vaccine sharing. Monkeypox is very difficult for someone to catch and is mostly caught from infected wild animals in the western region of central Africa. The virus can be spread from person to person through close physical contact, including sexual contact. Follow The Daily Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker The first cases of monkeypox infections were confirmed in England on May 6 this year. The UK Health Safety Agency reports that as of July 25, there were 2,367 confirmed and 65 highly probable cases of smallpox in the UK. Of these, 59 were in Scotland, 18 in Northern Ireland, 30 in Wales and 2,325 in England. Gay and bisexual men are disproportionately affected by the spread of the virus, with 98% of those infected from this group. To slow its spread, the WHO advises gay men to limit the number of sexual partners they have. Although most cases so far are among men who have sex with men, anyone exposed can get monkeypox. Symptoms of the virus include isolated genital lesions and sores in the mouth or anus, while the NHS website reports high temperature, headache, muscle aches, back pain, swollen glands, chills and exhaustion.
