Argentina registers until this July 17 a total of 13 cases of monkeypoxas reported in the first National Epidemiological Bulletin (BEN) of the Ministry of Health.
According to the report, 12 of the cases had a history of travel prior to the onset of symptoms while the ages of those infected -all men- ranged from 26 to 45 years.
The 13 cases of monkeypox are registered in the City of Buenos Aires (5 confirmed cases), the province of Buenos Aires (4); Cordoba (3); and Mendoza (1)while there are two cases considered suspicious in the federal capital and in Córdoba.
Monkeypox is an infectious disease which is usually due to a virus that passes to humans via an infected animal. But in the current outbreak the main route of spread is between people.
From the beginning of May there was an acceleration in the detection of cases outside of central and western Africa, where this disease is endemic. So far, confirmed cases outside endemic areas have mild symptoms and no deaths have been reported so far.
According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), the most common profile of an infected person is that of a man under 40 years of age, resident in Europe, who has sex with men, and has skin rashes on his body, besides fever.
This is a broad stroke profile, representative of most patients.
European Union countries start receiving monkeypox vaccines
With 81.6% of the 6,027 registered cases in the world, Europe is by far the region most affected by the wave of monkeypox casesdetected in May outside of West and Central African countries where the virus is endemic.
Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain are the most affected countries in the world with more than 1,000 cases each.
99.5% of patients are men, with a mean age of 37 yearsaccording to WHO statistics.
60% of patients who revealed their sexual orientation – a third of those affected – identify themselves as homosexual, bisexual or having had sexual relations with other men, according to the report.
After the Covid pandemic, viruses that the world thought it had left behind reappear
What is known about monkeypox: symptoms, prevention and treatment
How it spreads:
monkeypox spread from one person to another by close contact with lesions, respiratory particles, and contaminated materialssuch as bedding or utensils.
The modes of transmission during sexual intercourse remain unknown. While it is known that close physical contact can lead to transmission, it is not yet clear what role sexual body fluids, including semen and vaginal fluids, play. Skin lesions and mouth sores contain infectious viruses. Body fluids such as pus or blood from skin lesions are particularly infectious.
Prevention measures include avoiding close contact with confirmed cases and people with compatible symptoms.
Monkeypox virus has more mutations than expected
What are the symptoms:
In the current outbreak in different non-endemic countries, the clinical symptoms are mild and the majority present –in the same way as the cases detected so far in Argentina– injuries to different parts of the body, including the genitals or the perigenital areaindicating that transmission is likely to occur through close physical contact (face-to-face, skin-to-skin, mouth-to-mouth, and sexual contact).
The most common symptoms are fever, headache, muscle or back pain, swollen glands and tiredness. Between one and five days later, a rash is added to the skin, which goes through different stages until it forms a crust that then falls off. Infected people are contagious until all scabs have fallen off.
It is being observed in cases outside the African continent that the presentation may be atypical, either with one or a few lesions, and cases with their absence have even been reported; lesions that start in the genital or perineal/perianal area and do not spread further; lesions appearing at different (asynchronous) stages of development; Y appearance of lesions prior to the appearance of swollen lymph nodes, fever, malaise or other symptoms.
Those who present any of the symptoms described should consult immediately to be evaluated by a health professional, use a properly placed chinstrap and avoid close contact with other people.
ds
You may also like