MIAMI, United States. – The Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) reported this Saturday the first case of monkeypox or monkeypox detected in the country.
In accordance with the MINSAP note, is a male patient, of Italian nationality, who arrived in Cuba as a tourist on August 15. “During his stay he has stayed in a rental house and visited several places in the western provinces of the country, according to the official source.
On August 18, after presenting general symptoms, the patient went to the Health services of the Island.
“During the first medical care provided, the symptoms worsened, for which he required urgent transfer for hospitalization and intensive treatment, arriving at the hospital in cardiac arrest, from which he recovered,” details the MINSAP.
Likewise, it specifies that the physical examination identified skin lesions that clinically suspected monkeypox, samples were taken and sent to the National Reference Laboratory of the “Pedro Kourí” Institute of Tropical Medicine, where the infection was confirmed by PCR. in real time in the early hours of this Saturday.
“The patient is in critical condition, with danger to his life. Possible associated causes that may have conditioned the severity of it are studied, ”indicates the MINSAP.
In addition, the institution assured that “the epidemiological investigation is deepened and the focus control actions are carried out, as provided in the approved protocol to deal with this disease in the country.”
On July 23, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak as a global emergency. According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 27,000 cases have been reported in 88 countries since May.
Monkeypox is a disease caused by a virus that goes by the same name: monkeypox. It is a viral zoonotic disease, which means it can be transmitted from animals to humans. It can also spread from person to person.
Most of the animals susceptible to contracting the disease and infecting people are rodents, such as the Gambian giant rats, dormouse or prairie dogs.
The disease was first detected in Africa in 1970 and to date there are two genetically differentiated strains: the Congo Basin strain in Central Africa, with 10% mortality, and the West African strain with 1% of mortality, which is the one that currently circulates in several countries
Symptoms usually include fever, severe headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, swollen lymph nodes, and skin rashes or lesions.
Skin rashes usually begin on the first or third day of fever, can be flat or slightly raised, filled with clear or yellowish fluid, and then crust over, dry up, and fall off.
The rashes tend to appear on the face, the palms of the hands, and the soles of the feet. They can also be found in the mouth, genitals, and eyes. Symptoms usually last two to four weeks and go away on their own without treatment.
Monkeypox is transmitted primarily by direct or indirect contact with blood, body fluids, skin lesions, or mucous membranes of infected animals. Secondary or person-to-person transmission can occur through close contact with infected respiratory secretions or skin lesions of an infected person.
The virus can also be transmitted through contact with objects recently contaminated with the patient’s fluids or materials from the injury. Transmission occurs primarily by respiratory droplets. Another form of contagion is through inoculation and placenta (congenital monkeypox).
Vulnerable or higher risk populations include children, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems.
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