The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern about the increase in monkeypox infections in Latin America, which already accumulates 27,228 confirmed cases, 301 suspects and three deathsuntil this August 30, 2022. The increase in the virus is influenced by the lack of prevention measures, they warn.
“There are signs that the outbreak is slowing in Europe, where a combination of effective public health measures, behavioral changes and vaccination are helping to prevent transmission. Nevertheless, In Latin America, insufficient public health awareness or measures they combine, with the lack of access to vaccines, to fan the flames of the outbreak”, said the director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus.
As detailed, Europe is no longer the continent where there is the greatest contagion of monkeypox, now it is America. Last week there was a 20% reduction in infections worldwide, but on this continent the cases increased.
According to data collected by Our World in Data, Worldwide, a total of 49,482 monkeypox infections and 13 deaths have been reported. The largest number of cases occur in the United States and Spain.
Central America: Panama in community transmission
The health authorities of Panama reported this Sunday of his ninth case, a 50-year-old man who arrived from Europe and confirmed that in this country there is already community transmission of monkeypox.
“At first the cases came from outside or from someone who had had contact with a person who came from outside (…) but We already have two community cases,” said the head of the Ministry of Health (Minsa), Luis Francisco Sucre.
The minister explained that, so far, all cases of monkeypox have occurred in homosexual men, for which he asked for extreme prevention measures to avoid contagion. Also He announced that they are in coordination with PAHO to acquire vaccines.
“We can acquire at least 1,000 (vaccines) to begin with, for a population that is exposed to this type of disease and wants to be vaccinated,” Sucre said.
In El Salvador, the first positive case was reported this Tuesday, August 30, 2022. It was a 28-year-old woman, who had contact with people who “arrived in the territory from the United States.” This in turn is the first case of monkeypox in women in the Central American region. The case was confirmed through a PCR test.
“We have taken all the measures and We are following up on all your links. This is important in order to provide a comprehensive approach,” said the head of the Ministry of Health, Francisco Alabí.
Meanwhile, in Honduras, the health authorities confirmed the fourth positive case, on Monday, August 29. It was a man under 30 years old, originally from Tegucigalpa, where the previous cases have occurred.
Likewise, the head of the Health Surveillance Unit, Lorenzo Pavón, explained that the first three infections registered between August 12 and 15 already have the inactive virus, so they are no longer contagious and are in recovery.
“The four cases are male patients who have not required hospitalization, they presented fevers and swollen glands, as well as skin rashes, “explained the official.
Stigma already hangs over monkeypox
In Guatemala there is a record of six confirmed cases; nevertheless, Health authorities admitted that it is difficult for them to trace risk contacts because patients are not willing to provide information due to the stigma that has been created before this virus.
“There is a lot of reservation and fear of the cases of being able to speak clearly about their connections with other people (…) We can’t force people to give us the information we need.”, admits to Prensa Libre, the head of the Department of Epidemiology of the Ministry of HealthLorena Govern.
As described, there were two suspicious cases that were treated in private hospitals, but the samples were not taken and the personal information they provided (address and telephone number) was false, for which they have not been able to locate them.
In Costa Rica there have been three cases of monkeypox, but there are 24 people waiting for tests to confirm or rule out the virus. As described by the director of Health Surveillance, Rodrigo Marín, there are 11 suspected cases with symptoms and 13 probable ones who had contact with a confirmed case and already have symptoms.
Vaccines for Latin America and the Caribbean
“The country remains vigilant, we have a diagnosis and clear guidelines that allow them to be addressed. An example of this is that with the three cases we do not have aftershocks or infections with them,” he explained. Marín, who also pointed out that they are evaluating the purchase of vaccines through the Revolving Fund from PAHO.
Nicaragua and Belize are the only countries in Central America that have not reported cases of monkeypox. The WHO director pointed out that the Regional Office for the Americas signed an agreement with the manufacturer of the Bavarian Nordic vaccine so that Latin America and the Caribbean can access this vaccine.
“We thank Bavarian Nordic for this agreement and hope that it will help control the outbreak in the region. Lhe WHO continues to encourage all countries to establish vaccine efficacy studies to ensure data collection while improving access,” the official said.
