Brazil's handling of monkeypox is flawed, say doctors

Folha de S.Paulo

Brazil's handling of monkeypox is flawed, say doctors

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With more than 1,300 confirmed cases of monkeypox, Brazil faces a lack of laboratory structure for quick diagnosis, low capacity by surveillance services to identify cases, insufficient training of health professionals, and difficulties in isolating contacts in a timely manner. The analysis is by a group of epidemiologists from six educational institutions, including Fiocruz and Abrasco (Brazilian Association of Collective Health). According to the researchers, just as it happened during the Covid pandemic, the country has failed and once again demonstrates fragility in handling the health emergency. For them, the negligence and slowness in the response to the disease are a cause for concern. Experts point out that, almost a month after the first case of monkeypox was diagnosed, the country still does not have a transparent, agile, and capable information system for recording confirmed and suspected cases, taking into account the clinical, epidemiological, and sociodemographic aspects. "Once you don't have data, you can't generate quality information to communicate with the population and health professionals, as well as guide health action plans and policies", says Alexandra Boing, an epidemiologist at the Federal University of Santa Catarina. Translated by Cassy Dias