"All regions of mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Region of Madeira reported cases, of which 641 (77 percent) in the health region of Lisbon and Tagus Valley," said the DGS in the weekly update on the evolution of the disease in the country.


According to the health authority, until Wednesday, 831 cases were reported in SINAVEmed (National System of Epidemiological Surveillance), most of which belong to the age group between 30 and 39 years (44 percent).


According to data from the DGS, 99 percent of infections were registered in men (823), and eight cases were reported in women.


The DGS also advanced that the recent average of new confirmed cases of infection by the Monkeypox virus "corroborates the slowdown observed in the notification and, by approximation, of the transmission of the infection".


On 16 July, the vaccination of the first close contacts started and, until last Sunday, 400 people had been vaccinated, said the department led by Graça Freitas, mentioning that eligible contacts in the different regions of the country continue to be identified and oriented to this process.


From 1 January to 7 September, 54,707 confirmed cases and 397 probable cases of human infection by the VMPX virus were reported to the World Health Organisation in 102 countries, with 18 deaths recorded.


According to data made available by the DGS, the number of new cases reported worldwide fell by 25.5 percent in the week of 29 August to 4 September, compared with the previous seven days.


The 10 countries with the highest number of cases are the United States (19,833), Spain (6,749), Brazil (5,525), France (3,646), Germany (3,505), the United Kingdom (3,484), Peru (1,724), Canada (1,289), the Netherlands (1,172) and Colombia (938), which together represent 87.5 percent of infections reported globally.


The most common symptoms of Monkeypox are fever, severe headache, muscle pain, backache, fatigue, enlarged lymph nodes with the progressive appearance of rashes affecting the skin and mucous membranes. A sick person ceases to be infectious only after complete healing and crusting of the dermatological lesions, a period that may possibly exceed four weeks.


Monkeypox virus is transmitted by close physical contact with lesions or body fluids, or by contact with contaminated material such as sheets, towels or personal utensils.