The Hospital de Clínicas reported that it already has a contingency plan to deal with a possible outbreak of monkeypox.
The Faculty of Medical Sciences of the UNA and its Hospital de Clínicas have the structure and trained personnel to deal with health contingency situations such as the one that could occur in the event of a possible outbreak of monkeypox or monkeypox.
Dr. Fátima Ovando, deputy director of the Hospital de Clínicas Assistance Service, said that the assistance center has a Contingency Committee installed for any type of event. “We are working on an action plan with the Department of Intrahospital Infection Control and Epidemiology, in order to respond to the possibility that we have an outbreak with cases of monkeypox. Thus, a monitoring system is already installed, mainly in both pediatric and adult emergency services, together with the action protocol.
On this point, he said that in the event of any suspicion, the action protocol that falls on the Infection Control personnel should be immediately activated, they would be in charge of carrying out the survey. And the medical staff would be in charge of continuing the protocol with the treatment of the patient.
A suspected case is considered to be that patient with symptoms and signs of the virus who presents some type of skin lesion characteristic of smallpox, lesions that are flat at first, then blister, fill with fluid, and then scabs form.
As for the care of this type of patient, the Teaching Hospital has specially prepared isolation areas in both emergencies, with a protocol plan established for this purpose. They are also working on staff training, in order to provide answers if necessary.
He also argued that at the moment the School Hospital has biosafety supplies available. “We always seek optimization by trying to respond to a protocol, that way we manage to optimize inputs.”
And he stressed the importance of maintaining the sanitary measures established by the Covid 19 pandemic, such as hand hygiene and the use of masks in the face of respiratory conditions, remains paramount. “There is not much difference, we must continue to insist on proper hand hygiene and in the case of injuries caused precisely by monkeys, all the more reason to be vigilant,” said the deputy director of the Hospital de Clínicas.
Characteristics of monkeypox
Monkeypox is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which spreads from animals to humans, as well as from person to person. It is transmitted by droplets of saliva or by close contact with infected people or samples that enter the body through breaks in the skin, mucous membranes or through sexual contact. The symptoms are fever, headache, muscle and joint pain and later skin rashes appear on the face, expanding to other parts of the body.
“What we have to take into account is the appearance of some eruptive lesions on the skin, they are lesions that have small vesicles with water, which should call our attention and immediately go to the nearest health center,” concluded Dr. Ovando.
