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Francisco’s lesions began after returning home to Mexico City from California in late June. First, he got his two spots on his buttocks. Then, a week later, he had lesions all over his body, his mouth was full of sores, and he could barely speak or drink.
“The pain was devastating beyond words,” said Francisco, 44, who asked Reuters to hide his real name.
Francisco is one of at least 59 confirmed monkeypox infections in Mexico since May, and experts believe the true number may be underestimated.
In Latin America, Mexico is second only to Brazil and Peru in confirmed cases of the viral disease, which is spreading mainly among gay and bisexual men like Francisco.
The World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global health emergency on July 23, drawing the attention of local authorities. But some doctors and activists in her two largest countries in Latin America told Reuters the response was lukewarm.
“Necessary measures have not been taken and monkeypox has not been given the importance it needs,” said Dr. Sergio Montalvo, a sexual health specialist in Mexico City.
Monkeypox: What You Need to Know About the Virus and How to Protect Yourself
Doctors like Montalvo fear authorities have not learned lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has strained health systems and left governments cash-strapped.
The story is similar in Brazil, where more than 970 infections account for more than two-thirds of the region’s total, according to Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) data.
The Brazilian Ministry of Health released its emergency response plan on 28 July. This is more than a month after his first case and the day before the first reported death from monkeypox outside of Africa in the current outbreak.
Vinicius Borges, an infectious disease expert in São Paulo, said, “We had already received news about the outbreak in Europe and the US, but the government did nothing. said it was having a “severe impact” on
The health ministries of Mexico and Brazil did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
Following the WHO declaration, Mexico’s Ministry of Health launched a website on monkeypox and a second advisory containing information on the virus. This is the first time since the country confirmed a case in May.
“In the last two months, we could have already made great strides,” said Ricardo Baruch, an LGBT health researcher who helped organize protests in Mexico City last week. called for increased prevention efforts targeting men who have sex with
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that gay and bisexual men accounted for 98% of infections in ongoing outbreaks outside Africa.
Mexican health officials have avoided highlighting the risks for this group.
“They don’t want to create stigma, but if they don’t talk about it, policy won’t focus on us.
Microbiologist Natalia Pasternak also expressed concern about Brazil’s message.
“The federal government is concerned with how monkeypox is transmitted, how it is transmitted from person to person, how it recognizes skin lesions, and how close proximity or sexual contact is,” Pastel said. Nak said.
BIDEN administrators may declare monkeypox a public health emergency: report
On July 25, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said the Brazilian government had “done its homework” to prepare, pointing out that four laboratories were conducting tests.
But Pasternak, a member of the São Paulo state’s monkeypox advisory board, said, “It will take some time to build testing capacity in Brazil.” I don’t quite understand your intentions.”
In one sign of progress, PAHO said on 27 July that 10 countries in the region had expressed interest in obtaining the vaccine.
Dr. Andrea Vicari, Director of Infectious Threat Management at PAHO, said it is not too late to contain the spread of monkeypox in the Americas.
“Even without a vaccine, there are other control measures that, if implemented well, can achieve the goal of reducing transmission.”