The Health Department confirmed today, Sunday, four additional cases of monkeypox, bringing to eight the total registered in Puerto Rico as of June 6.
Two of the new confirmed cases have no travel history, while the other two have travel history to the United States. The Secretary of Health, Carlos Mellado, confirmed to El Nuevo Día that these cases without travel history constitute that there is community transmission of monkeypox in Puerto Rico.
The four individuals are in isolation and the cases are not related to each other. Of the four people, there are two who fluctuate between 20 and 35 years old, one between the ages of 36 to 50, and one in the line of 51 to 65 years.
The agency’s previous bulletin, covering through July 8, had reported four confirmed cases out of a total of 13 alerts. In the new bulletin, which covers until July 15, in addition to the new confirmed infections, the number of alerts handled by Health increased to 30.
“Since the beginning of the epidemiological surveillance system for monkeypox, a total of 30 alerts have been received. They are distributed in: eight confirmed cases for Orthopox virus; three contacts per trip; eight suspected cases; four cases initially classified as a suspected case and then reclassified due to a negative test for Orthopox virus, and seven as a Person Under Investigation”, details the most recent bulletin published by Health. Eleven of the alerts have completed their investigation process.
Monkeypox, monkeypox or “monkeypox” is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus that is transmitted from animal to person or between people.
Some of the associated symptoms are fever, headache and muscle pain, back pain, lack of energy, swollen lymph nodes and skin lesions, especially on the face, palms of the hands and soles of the feet. Lesions may also be found in the mouth, genitals, and eyes.
The first case on the island was reported by Health At the end of june. The second case of the monkeypox virus was reported on July 8, in a person who was traveling in Europe. After the confirmation of the first two cases, Health warned that Puerto Rico is going through an outbreak of this disease.
Los Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) iidentified the first case in the United States on May 18, in a Massachusetts man who had recently traveled to Canada. As of July 15, 1,814 cases had been confirmed in 43 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico.
“Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease, with symptoms lasting 2 to 4 weeks. It can cause serious pictures. Recently, the fatality rate has been around 3%-6%”, highlights the World Health Organization (WHO) on its online portal.
As of July 5, at least 5,322 cases of monkeypox had been confirmed globally, according to the WHO. The entity specified that 85% of the infections have been registered in Europe, the region so far most affected by the disease.
The number of cases represents an increase of more than 55.9% compared to a previous assessment dated June 30. Despite the increase in cases, so far the disease has caused only one death, the UN health agency said.