The smallpox virus circulating in Portugal belongs to a less aggressive variant in West Africa, the National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA) said on Tuesday, informs the Xinhua news agency, reports Agerpres.
The monkeypox virus circulating in Portugal belongs to a less aggressive variant in West Africa, the National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA) said on Tuesday, informs the Xinhua news agency, reports Agerpres.
A team of scientists led by Joao Paulo Gomes, director of the Institute's Infectious Diseases Bioinformatics Unit at the institute, has completed genomic sequencing of the monkeypox virus that is spreading in Portugal, the researcher told the Lusa news agency.
The virus in Portugal "is closer to the monkeypox virus in Nigeria", which was detected in 2018 and 2019 in several countries, including the UK, Israel and Singapore, the expert said, noting that there is another more aggressive variant of smallpox, which circulates in Central Africa.
"In theory, it is evolving 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 cause for concern," the microbiologist called on other states to "act, block the chains of transmission, carry out intensive monitoring" and "quickly" clarify suspicious cases.
Context
Smallpox is a rare disease that can be spread by direct contact with body fluids or by contact with contaminated clothing or bedding.
Portugal has so far confirmed 39 cases, all in patients between the ages of 27 and 61, most under the age of 40.
As of Tuesday, there had been 131 cases of monkeypox and 106 suspected cases in 19 countries outside Africa since the first case was reported on May 7, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
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