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Mexico declares its first case of monkeypox

2022-05-28T20:55:39.944Z


The infected is a man who lives in New York and is isolated and stable in a health center in Mexico City.


Mexico has declared its first case in the country of monkeypox.

This is a 50-year-old man who usually lives in New York and who probably got infected in the Netherlands.

This has been communicated by the Undersecretary of Health, Hugo López-Gatell, in a tweet.

The affected person is being treated at a hospital in Mexico City and is stable and in preventive isolation.

"Hopefully he will recover without complications," Gatell wrote.

And he has recalled that this smallpox is only transmitted by direct contagion between people, but it does not spread through the air, water or food.

"The efficiency of contagion is low, so there are generally isolated cases or small outbreaks, not generalized epidemics," the undersecretary wanted to reassure.

Monkeypox keeps the world on alert, where there have already been a dozen cases in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and a handful of European nations.

In total, it currently affects about 250 people.

Mexico put all its health centers on notice a couple of days ago, so that they were vigilant and could report any case that arose.

The disease is not new, however: in Africa it was defined more than five decades ago.

The symptoms, which last between two or three weeks, begin with fever, headache, swollen glands and muscle discomfort.

In a second stage, rashes begin on the skin, which increases its dramatic effect, first on the face and then on the rest of the body.

It is, scientists say, very similar to smallpox, but of less clinical relevance.

Prevention measures are already old known throughout the world due to the pandemic.

Frequent hand washing is recommended, covering the nose and mouth with the elbow when coughing and sneezing and avoiding sharing food, drinks, cutlery and dishes.

As the risk increases in direct contact with the patient, it is very useful to wear a mask in these cases and reinforce hygiene measures.

The patient's rashes should not be touched.

In the European Union, it has also been recommended that pets be kept away from those infected to prevent the virus from spreading, a prevention that can be very useful in Mexico due to the high number of dogs in the country.

In 2003, the first contagion outside Africa occurred, after the importation of rodents from that continent that infected domestic prairie dogs in the United States.

From there it jumped to humans.

There are no vaccines against this disease, but experts are confident in the global containment of this outbreak, which, on the other hand, has a low fatality rate compared to other diseases: 10% of those infected die.

In 50 years, no outbreak has recorded rates higher than that.

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-05-28

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