Spain, Brazil report first monkeypox-related deaths outside Africa

Spain is one of the world's worst-hit countries, with 4,298 people there infected with the virus, according to the health ministry's emergency and alert coordination centre.An official would not give the specific cause of death for the fatality pending the outcome of an autopsy.The man, who local media said had serious immune system problems, died on Thursday in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the southeastern Minas Gerais state."It is important to underline that he had serious co-morbidities, so as not to spread panic in the population. The death rate is very low" for monkeypox, said Minas Gerais health secretary Fabio Baccheretti, who added that the patient was undergoing cancer treatment.Brazil's health ministry has recorded close to 1,000 monkeypox cases, mostly in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states, which are also in the country's southeast.The World Health Organization (WHO) last Saturday declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency.The disease has been detected in 78 countries, with 70 percent of cases found in Europe and 25 percent in the Americas, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.Ghebreyesus told reporters that the best way to protect against infection was "to reduce the risk of exposure".The disease usually heals by itself after two to three weeks, sometimes taking a month.rs-gw/smw... Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au