To be alert and prevented in the face of global monkeypox outbreak
- Written by Lourdes Pichs Rodríguez
- Published in Health
- Hits: 1374
While reinforcing border surveillance, Cuba is working on a protocol for the diagnosis and treatment of so-called monkeypox, which already affects nearly 200 people in some 15 nations, confirmed the country's Hygiene and Epidemiology authorities.
At the beginning of last week, Dr. Francisco Durán García, National Director of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Public Health, in his usual Monday appearance, confirmed that so far on the Island there are no cases of this disease caused by A virus; however, patients have been detected in the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Belgium and Spain, the most affected; as well as in other European countries.
Faced with this threat, the Cuban health system is reinforcing epidemiological surveillance protocols at airports, ports and marinas, with a marked interest in travelers from nations with diagnosed cases for now.
This disease, with an incubation time between six to 13 days, has as its most recurrent symptoms: fever, chills, headache, back and muscle pain; swollen and prominent lymph nodes and skin lesions, which usually appear in outbreaks almost all over the body, including the mouth, genitals and eyes.
According to experts, monkeypox (it is a viral zoonosis) that is transmitted from animals to humans, but also from person to person with the disease and also, by coming into contact with objects, personal clothing or bedding; towels and other items from infected patients.
Due to the risks of this disease, once an individual is infected, they must remain in isolation for at least 21, to avoid transmitting the virus, which is very contagious and achieves very high fatality rates, as in Africa, which are between 4 and 1 22 percent, as recently reported by Enrique Pérez, advisor on Disease Prevention and Control of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
