Brazil and Spain Report First Monkeypox Deaths Outside Africa

One Spaniard, whose details were not published, and a 41-year-old man in Brazil have died of monkeypox in the first death cases from the disease outside of Africa, where monkeypox is endemic and deaths often occur, health officials of both countries informed on Friday.

The Brazilian Health Ministry’s statement said that the patient, who had a weakened immune system and suffered from lymphoma – among other diseases – died on Thursday of septic shock, aggravated by monkeypox in a public hospital in Belo Horizonte.

The Spanish Health Ministry confirmed the first monkeypox death in the country – where 3,750 monkeypox cases have been registered, out of which 120 have been hospitalized – and in Europe on Friday evening.

Five monkeypox deaths, all in African countries, have been confirmed so far by the World Health Organization (WHO), which recently declared the 2022 monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency.

Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported a total of 21,148 cases in 78 countries, out of which more than 90% are in countries that never before have reported monkeypox.

CDC data shows the US leads in the number of cases globally with nearly 5,000 reported cases.

Vowing to take measures to stop the outbreak amid the ongoing spread of monkeypox, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a State Disaster Emergency on Friday and has issued an executive order extending the pool of individuals who are allowed to administer vaccines to include EMS personnel, pharmacists, midwives, physicians, and certified nurse practitioners.

Previously on Thursday, the mayor of San Francisco announced a state of emergency due to the growing number of monkeypox cases and the desperate need for vaccines to support the people of San Francisco.

San Francisco Department of Public Health underscored that the city of San Francisco has 281 (30%) out of about 800 monkeypox cases in California and people are waiting for hours in line for scarce doses of monkeypox vaccine due to the national vaccine shortage.