LA PAZ, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Bolivia accumulated 55 monkeypox cases in less than a month after the first infection was recorded, with an average of two cases per day, the Ministry of Health and Sports announced Friday.
Three new cases were registered in the department of Santa Cruz, bringing the overall figure in that region to 47, with one recovery.
The department with the second most cases was Cochabamba with five, followed by La Paz with three, and Potosi with one.
Evelin Fortun, Executive General Director of the National Institute of Health Laboratories, told Xinhua that the first female case of monkeypox was confirmed on Wednesday in an 11-year-old patient.
She said Cochabamba's department of health service reported that the patient showed symptoms of the disease and was in stable condition, while contact tracing was underway.
"The timely diagnosis alert in the country has allowed us to tackle this disease with containment protocols to treat it," she said.
On May 24, the Bolivian government declared an "epidemiological alert" to detect any signs of the disease and establish preventive, early diagnosis and containment measures.
