Panama confirmed this Tuesday the first case of monkey pox in a patient who remains stable and in isolation. “In the afternoon (Monday), we are confirmed that the patient is positive for the monkeypox virus. It is the first case in the country,” Panamanian Health Minister Luis Francisco Sucre said at a press conference.
The patient, a 30-year-old man, is isolated in a hospital in Panama City and, so far, he only has a fever, for which he will receive symptomatic treatment, according to the authorities.
The first case of monkeypox is detected in Panama. @MINSAPma pic.twitter.com/sm6qj3OQ1V
— Gorgas Memorial Institute (@InstitutoGorgas) July 5, 2022
The head of the health portfolio, quoted by Eph, reiterated that “there is no reason to be alarmed”, since they maintain “epidemiological surveillance and traceability of the individual”. The disease is transmitted “mainly by direct contact through the exchange of fluids,” said Sucre, who assured the population that they can be “calm”, since there is no reason to be alarmed because they are facing a disease “that is not easily contagious. ”.
“The epidemiological surveillance system (…) and genomic surveillance (…) is being carried out,” added the minister, who asked the population to maintain hygiene and biosafety standards. This first case was confirmed by the Gorgas Memorial Institute, a state entity dedicated to medical research, after the patient went for a test since he had had suspicious symptoms for days.
Since the beginning of last May, more than 3,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 47 countries, many of which had never registered this disease, which has been observed in particular among men who have sex with men, according to the World Organization of Health (WHO).
The WHO noted that the vast majority of patients have not been vaccinated against smallpox, as the routine smallpox vaccine also protects against monkeypox, a disease neglected for many years in Africa.
With information from Eph.
