“We have made progress to be prepared for the possibility of the arrival of suspected cases,” said the Undersecretary of Public Health
By
Cristián Torresfrom Santiago, Chile
Chile’s Undersecretary of Health, Cristóbal Cuadrado, announcing the details of preparation for monkeypox.
Chilean health authorities reported that they have made progress on a plan of action in case monkeypox is detected in their territory. The protocol consists of a laboratory diagnostic capacity and a supervised isolation in case of suspicion or confirmation of this disease.
Read Also
- César Garza takes protest as president of CONAMM Aug 28, 2021
- Alberto Nisman’s Hidden Money: The judge investigated … Jan 14, 2021
- Unemployment in the US falls in May to 5.8% with 559,000 new jobs Jun 4, 2021
- Star Wars: Fans mourn the death of the designer of the X-Wing and the Death Star May 23, 2022
- Far from the crack, Luis Majul proudly relaunches 107.9 FM Radio Berlin: “I breathe music, although I have been talking about politics for 20 years and that is recontra toxic” Apr 10, 2021
- This was the moment they found Maya Yael Peloso – page 12 Mar 18, 2021
- The New York Auto Show will receive public Jun 3, 2021
This was expressed by the Undersecretary of Public Health, Cristóbal Cuadrado, who explained that “there are more than 23 countries that have reported confirmed cases, approximately 240 cases that had been identified and confirmed as of May 27” . For this very reason, Chile has made progress in preparing its public and private health network in case monkeypox enters the country.
“Chile has made progress to be prepared for the possibility of the arrival of suspicious cases. To do this, we have activated a series of epidemiological surveillance actions, coordination with the public and private network, and the definition of suspected, probable and confirmed cases,” said the authority.
< p class=”paragraph”>In the first place, the plan consists of a series of channels and avenues of information so that travelers and the community in general can be nourished in the event that it is affected or suspects that it is infected with monkeypox. “Delivering information, for example, to travelers at the airport and maintaining an open channel through Salud Responde, so that anyone who has symptoms of fever, weakness and the appearance of skin lesions, after having traveled abroad, can consult and know where to consult in a healthcare center”, said Cuadrado.
Although no cases of monkeypox have been detected in Chile, it was recorded that a Chilean abroad was affected by this disease. This is a 35-year-old citizen who would have been infected in Spain earlier this month and who would be hospitalized in an infectious disease ward at the Sant’Orsola Polyclinic in Bologna. He is stable.
Diagnose smallpox and symptoms
Chilean authorities assured that the country “has advanced” in its preparation for the eventual arrival of monkeypox in its territory.
Cuadrado explained that Chile has strengthened its capacity to diagnose the disease in the face of this emergency. “Within of our national epidemiology network, it is essential to be able to rely on laboratory diagnostic capacity. For this, the Public Health Institute (ISP) has been working actively in coordination with international agencies and reference laboratories from other countries, in order to implement the necessary techniques to confirm cases of monkeypox.”
The authority stated that to diagnose monkeypox a completely different PCR is needed than the one used for the coronavirus. This new method requires a sample of the affected skin to take the test. “This is a completely different PCR, the sample is taken from a patient who has symptoms, skin erosion, which has these so-called pustules, and from there the sample needed to take the PCR, which takes approximately two days, after genotyping, that is, important sequencing,” said Cuadrado.
Cases that are “ suspected, probable and confirmed” will have supervised isolation. This means that the patient will be hospitalized at all times during the period of infection. Finally, the Chilean authorities recalled the symptoms of monkeypox. “The symptoms that constitute a person being identified as a suspected case are the appearance of symptoms, in which fever is essential, headache, weakness, appearance of swollen glands usually behind the head”, concluded the undersecretary.