The photo and story of a Venezuelan doctor from Madrid has gone viral. He recounts his surreal encounter with a patient suffering from monkey pox in the subway…
“I didn’t want to talk about it but since they only want to blame us… Here, I’m telling the story of this photo… That of a case of monkey pox in the subway at the stronger from the contagion.”
This is how Arturo Henriques, a Venezuelan doctor in the Spanish capital, recounts what he experienced in the Madrid metro.
I didn’t think to put anything about but since they want to blame only us… Well, I tell the story of this photo… Of a case of V. Del mono in the subway at its peak of contagion. pic.twitter.com/dizPSDMGA4
– Arturo M Henriques B (@arturohenriques) July 30, 2022
While sitting in a train during his journey, he sees a man in Bermuda shorts with skin lesions characteristic of monkeypox. What amazes him then is the patient’s calm and the fact that around him, no one seems to react.
“I cautiously approached the man and asked him what he was doing on the subway when he had monkeypox,” explains Arturo Henriques. The man replied that he knew it but that he continued to live his life normally since his doctor would not have told him to isolate himself and “only to wear a mask”.
“I won’t touch your balls…”
Arturo Henrique then explains to the man that “the lesions he has all over his body are the most contagious” and that, obviously, “he may not have understood all the indications of his family doctor…”
Calmly, the man with monkeypox replied that he could reassure himself, “he wouldn’t touch his balls…”.
Taken aback, the doctor tries to find support from the woman sitting next to the sick man. “Aren’t you worried about getting sick?” “How could I get sick, I’m not gay! The government said it was gays who were affected.”
Tired of the fight, the doctor left the metro with the bitter feeling that this disease had not finished doing damage.
A communication to review
If most of the sick people are men who have had sexual relations with several male partners, the disease can affect anyone. The more the virus circulates, the more likely it is to affect the greatest number. The Independent reported, this Sunday, the story of a Spaniard victim of monkey pox after… buying a scooter.
The WHO has classified monkeypox on high alert but will above all have to change its communication which today seems to be doing terrible damage. As a reminder, two people died in Spain of the disease this weekend. The first two deaths on European soil.