Cuba confirms death of Italian citizen from simian smallpox

The Cuban Ministry of Health has confirmed the death of a 50-year-old Italian citizen on Sunday, August 21, from simian smallpox, the first person to die from the disease on the island.

Through a communiqué, Cuban health authorities have reported that the patient was diagnosed with the disease last August 20, after two days “in an unstable critical condition.”

Since the 18th “he rapidly evolved towards gravity”, dying on Sunday 21st in the afternoon. The necropsy report indicates that he died of sepsis due to bronchopneumonia and multiple organ damage.

The authorities have pointed out that the victim had no previous pathologies that would explain the rapidity with which he worsened and that the people with whom he had contact are kept in isolation, although without symptoms.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared monkeypox a public health emergency, due to the significant increase in cases globally, being reported in about 75 countries.