La Paz, Baja California Sur.- From a professional point of view, an expert believes that monkeypox does not compare to Covid 19.
Read: There are no cases of mpox in BCS, how is it spread?
Due to the transmission mechanism and the socioeconomic characteristics of the state of the country and specifically La Paz, if an outbreak of MPox (monkeypox) occurs, the outbreak could be controlled without any problem since it is primarily a matter of sexual transmission that now with the new variant of the monkeypox virus is also transmitted through some mucous membranes and contact blisters.
Manuel Miguel Romero, who was the State Director of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health during the Covid-19 pandemic, explained that “if an outbreak of monkeypox were to occur in Baja California Sur, it would not compare at all with what we went through with Covid-19 since the virus has different characteristics,” he said.
On Wednesday, August 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) due to a new outbreak of monkeypox (Mpox) on the recommendation of the emergency committee of the International Health Regulations (IHR) established in 2005, said the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Mpox is a type of smallpox that is caused by zoonosis, that is, by a contagion that passes from some species of animals to humans. It is a complex DNA virus known as orthopoxvirus, which affects the skin. This disease was first detected in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This condition is considered endemic to the countries of central and western Africa.
Places that so far in 2024 have reported 17,541 cases in twelve African countries, of which 517 died from complications related to this disease, which is why, after the resurgence of monkeypox (Mpox) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in other African countries, a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) was declared.
According to the epidemiological notice conave/06/2024/Mpox (Seismic Smallpox) of the National Committee for Epidemiological Surveillance (CONAVE) distributed throughout the country to the personnel of the Ministry of Health, it is mentioned that with the cessation of smallpox vaccination in 1980 due to its total eradication in the world, this orthopoxvirus has become the most important.
After Health Secretary Zazil Flores Aldate announced that there have been no cases of monkeypox in Baja California Sur so far this year, epidemiological surveillance is being maintained in case any suspected cases arise, the relevant tests are carried out to confirm the disease and apply measures to break transmission chains.
INCUBATION PERIOD AND CASE FATALITY RATE
The incubation period is 5 to 21 days, which produces a clinical picture that goes through two stages. During the first five days it is characterized by fever, intense headache, swollen lymph nodes, muscle pain, lower back pain and fatigue. Later in the second stage, in the first three days, a rash of blisters appears on the face and later on the body. The current fatality rate is 1 in 1,000 people.
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It is mainly transmitted through close contact with infected people, either through their lesions, bodily fluids and during sexual intercourse, and respiratory droplets. It can also be transmitted by coming into contact with contaminated objects, such as clothing, bedding and towels that have been in contact with the fluids or lesions of the infected patient.
If you have symptoms, try not to get close to other people and prioritize home isolation. Reinforce handwashing with soap and water or use antibacterial gel; cover your nose and mouth with the inside of your elbow when sneezing or coughing, as well as avoid sharing food, drinks, cutlery and plates, Flores Aldape concluded.
In 2024, 49 cases have been confirmed in the country out of the 212 reported in the period distributed across 11 states, with the variant known as clade II accounting for all cases, with 29 cases in Mexico City, followed by entities such as Quintana Roo with seven; three in Jalisco; two in Morelos and Puebla and the rest distributed across the State of Mexico, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala and Veracruz.
