-
Virus, file photo./Listín
The Department of Health (DH) of Puerto Rico said this Saturday that it is keeping an eye on the development of the smallpox virus of the monkey with cases reported in several countries around the world, including one confirmed in the United States and several others with suspicion.
According to the island’s Health Minister, Carlos Mellado, in a press release, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States that “at this time the risk of infection is low.” Notched.
The most common symptoms associated with monkeypox generally include: fever, severe headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, swollen lymph nodes, and skin rashes or lesions.< /p>
Given this, Mellado exhorted People with symptoms of monkeypox, such as characteristic rashes or lesions, should contact their health care provider for treatment.
The CDC indicates that the suspicion of monkeypox should be increased if the rash is in people who have traveled to countries with recently confirmed cases of monkeypox.
Suspicion may also fall on persons who report contact with a person or persons who have a similar-appearing rash or received a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of smallpox. monkey.
In addition, suspicion remains if a man who regularly has close or intimate in-person contact with other men, including those he meets through a website, a digital app, or at a bar or party .
Mellado explained that person-to-person transmission of this disease occurs through large respiratory droplets and by direct contact with body fluids or injured material.
These respiratory droplets usually cannot travel more than a few feet, so prolonged face-to-face contact is required.
Meanwhile, animal-to-human transmission can occur through a bite or scratch, the grooming of game animals, and direct or indirect contact with bodily fluids or injured material.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease, which means it can be transmitted from animals to humans, although it can also be spread between people, explained the official. the DS in the statement.
The rashes or skin lesions usually begin within one to three days of the onset of the fever, he explained. Notched.
The rash also tends to be concentrated on the face, the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.
Lesions, meanwhile, can be flat or slightly raised, filled with clear or yellowish fluid, and can then crust over, dry out, and fall off.
The number of Lesions in one person can range from a few to several thousand, and can be found in the mouth, genitals, and eyes.
Lesions, meanwhile, can be widespread or localized only in the genital or perianal area.
Some patients may present with proctitis and their disease may be clinically confused with a sexually transmitted infection such as the yes. filis or herpes, or with infection with the varicella zoster virus.