Peru confirms 157 monkeypox cases as WHO declares global emergency

On Saturday, July 23rd, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global public health emergency. By that same day, Peru had confirmed 157 cases of the virus across eight regions of the country, joining more than seventy nations grappling with an outbreak that had infected over ten thousand people worldwide.

The first confirmed case in Peru arrived on June 26th, when Health Minister Jorge López Peña announced that a foreign national living in Lima had tested positive. The patient was isolated at Hospital Santa Rosa, along with family members who had been in close contact, and was later moved to home care as his condition remained stable. But that single case was only the beginning. By late July, the virus had spread across the country—136 cases in metropolitan Lima, seven in Callao, five in La Libertad, two each in Lima's provinces, Ica, and Cusco, and isolated cases in Tacna, Loreto, and Piura. Twenty-four patients had already been discharged from medical care.

Peru's health authorities had moved quickly. On May 27th, before the first case was even confirmed, the Ministry of Health issued an epidemiological alert to public and private health facilities nationwide, instructing them to identify, report, and investigate any suspected cases. The government intensified surveillance at airports, ports, and land border crossings, and established protocols for sample collection and laboratory testing. When cases did arrive, the system was ready: five hospitals in Lima and Callao—Cayetano Heredia, Dos de Mayo, Villa El Salvador, Ate Vitarte, and Daniel Alcides Carrión—were designated to treat patients, each equipped with isolation wards. Test results, which once required samples to be sent abroad, could now be delivered within twelve hours.

The diagnosis itself is a careful process. Because monkeypox causes a rash that resembles other skin conditions—chickenpox, hand-foot-and-mouth disease—Peruvian health workers use molecular testing to confirm the virus. They swab lesions, take throat samples similar to COVID-19 tests, and draw blood. All samples are transported quickly to the National Institute of Health, where technicians work to rule out other diseases and confirm the presence of monkeypox.

Globally, the picture was more dire. Nearly fourteen thousand cases had been reported across more than seventy countries, with five deaths—all in Africa, where the virus is endemic. But Peru's experience suggested the outbreak might be manageable. Luis Pampa, an infectious disease specialist at Peru's National Institute of Health, noted that mortality rates in countries with larger caseloads did not exceed four percent, and most infections were mild or moderate. The virus mutates slowly and spreads through limited routes—direct contact with lesions, contaminated objects, or respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing. It was unlikely to spread as rapidly as COVID-19 had. Still, Pampa warned that people with compromised immune systems faced higher risk of complications, and he urged the public to seek medical attention at the first sign of symptoms: fever, severe headache, swollen lymph nodes, back pain, muscle aches, and the characteristic rash that typically appeared on the face before spreading elsewhere.

Peru had no deaths from monkeypox. All confirmed patients were receiving medical care and being monitored. Health authorities were tracking contacts. The government had set up multiple channels for people to report symptoms: a hotline at 113, WhatsApp and Telegram numbers, and an email address. The message was clear: stay alert, maintain hygiene, avoid contact with lesions, wear masks, and call for help if symptoms appeared. The outbreak was real, but it was being watched, and it was being managed.