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According to National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, the monkeypox virus circulating in Portugal belongs to a less aggressive lineage spreading in West Africa.
The genome-sequencing of the monkeypox virus circulating in the country has been completed, according to Joao Paulo Gomes, Head of the Bioinformatics Unit of the Institute’s Department of Infectious Diseases.
The virus in Portugal “is more closely related to the monkeypox virus from Nigeria,” which was detected in 2018 and 2019 in countries such as the United Kingdom, Israel, and Singapore, according to the expert, who added that another more aggressive lineage of monkeypox is circulating in Central Africa, according to Xinhua news agency.
“In theory, it evolves more than we expected. Eventually, we will be able to see that these genomic traits may be associated with greater transmissibility, we don’t know yet,” he said.
Although “there is no reason for concern,” the microbiologist urged countries “to act, to block the chains of transmission, to carry out strong surveillance and quickly dismiss all suspected cases“.
Monkeypox is a rare disease that can be transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids or contact with contaminated clothing or bedsheets.
Portugal has so far confirmed 39 cases, with all patients ranging in age from 27 to 61 years, with the majority being under the age of 40.
According to the WHO, there have been 131 monkeypox cases and 106 suspected cases in 19 countries outside of Africa since the first case was reported on May 7.