The Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Health (INS) confirmed the first three cases of monkeypox in the country, Colombia joins the list of 43 countries in which more than 3,500 cases have been detected, in the midst of an unusual outbreak that in recent months has generated global alarms.
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However, the recommendation of the authorities is remain calm, watch for symptoms and avoid contact with infected people or suspected of being.
“Manifestations of monkeypox often include fever, severe headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, swollen lymph nodes, and a skin rash or maculopapular lesions,” Claudia Cuéllar, director of Epidemiology and Demography of the Ministry of Health, indicated.
The @MinSaludCol and the @INSColombia confirmed three cases of monkeypox in Colombia. Claudia Cuéllar, director of Epidemiology and Demography of the @MinSaludColprovide details.
ℹ️https://t.co/NZ5ruMdh6X pic.twitter.com/6mq8ZwFRcF
— MinSaludCol (@MinSaludCol) June 24, 2022
The cases detected in the country were identified after carrying out medical tests on two adults in Bogotá who had traveled to Europe and a young man in Medellín. The three infected people remain isolated and contact tracing was carried out in order to prevent further contagion, according to the authorities.
The medical analysis consists of collection of serum samples, exudate from lesions and pharyngeal swab. Since it is a disease detected almost 20 years ago, whose first outbreak was in 2003 in Africaspecialists have sufficient evidence on the management and control of the disease whose mortality rate ranges between 1% and 10%.
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Although the disease can cause complications in some people and even in the most serious cases, death. It is known that in most cases, symptoms go away on their own within a few weeks.
One of the most distinctive symptoms of this smallpox is a skin rash that usually begins one to three days after the onset of the fever. Outbreak lesions may be flat or slightly raised. filled with clear or yellowish fluid, and can then crust over, dry up, and fall off.
More information: Monkeypox: Can it be transmitted through the air?
It should be remembered that monkeypox or simian pox is not considered a highly contagious disease since close physical contact with someone infected is required to spread between people.
Franklyn Prieto, director of public health surveillance at the INS, assured that “In the presence of any of these symptoms and if you were in contact with a suspected case call your EPS or go to the nearest health center”.
Prieto added that “the indication of check for signs of Monkeypox in people with an epidemiological link to a confirmed or probable case, or with a history of travel to cities where outbreaks have been confirmed, such asor with a history of travel to endemic areas (Africa).”
