The Dénia Health Department -DSD- has identified 9 cases of monkeypox in the Marina Alta since last May, when the pathology was declared a community-transmitted disease.
Spain is the country in Europe with the highest number of cases, almost 4.600; followed by the United Kingdom -2.800-, Germany -2.700- and France -2.000-. By Autonomous Communities, Madrid heads the list, followed by Catalonia, Andalusia, the Canary Islands, the Basque Country and the Valencian Community.
In the case of the Marina Alta, all the patients, who have been treated and isolated for a period of three weeks, are male. In Spain, only 1,7% of the female population has been infected. According to the Head of Internal Medicine of the DSD, Dr. Patricia Martín Rico, “the sexual route is the most effective route for transmission; and more specifically in the case of homosexual relations, since from the point of view of the tissues, it is more traumatic and, consequently, the penetration of the virus is easier”.
Prevention, routes of transmission and hoaxes
However, adds Dr. Martín Rico, “although the exchange of sweat and saliva can also be transmission mechanisms; For the time being, all the cases detected in the Marina Alta have had a transmission mechanism of sexual contact”. In this sense, the Head of Internal Medicine underlines the importance of prophylaxis when having sexual relations with different partners and appeals to common sense when undoing hoaxes, such as the one that has recently circulated on social networks, which pointed out as a means of contagion the purchase of a second-hand scooter.
Although monkeypox is a pathology with a very low lethality, Patricia Martín Rico points out, “it is necessary to have patients identified and isolated so that it does not become another sexually transmitted disease. It is important to establish the appropriate epidemiological measures and that the infected person does not have sexual relations of any kind and is isolated from their cohabitants, including domestic animals, since they act as a reservoir of monkeypox.
There is no specific treatment for monkeypox. Epidermal lesions are treated with local cures so that they do not become superinfected. If the patient presents with fever or headache, antipyretics and analgesics are administered, respectively.
Vaccine
The monkeypox vaccine has already begun to be administered among health professionals and the population that has come into contact with infected people.
The dose must be supplied in the first 4 days, although the effectiveness lasts up to 14 days after contact. On the other hand, the smallpox vaccine by scarification, which stopped being inoculated in Spain in the year 76, offers certain levels of protection.
The Ministry of Health plans to distribute doses to the population at greatest risk; in addition to health professionals and contacts of identified cases, also among those patients who are undergoing PREP or Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis treatment to prevent HIV infection.
And what happens if you try on clothes that an infected person has tried on before? And if you sit in the chair you used? And if you touch the doorknob that you have touched? ….. it seems that they are not interested in informing the population of what is happening. The message that it only occurs in men with homosexual relationships with multiple partners hides the real risk of contagion through other routes.
It's already taking a while to arrive! We were looking forward to it! It was strange that in the high navy the truth did not pass. If we are always the first for everything… last week cases without proving or less confirming (as in all of Europe) of the punctures for submission and now the monkey! Next week we will be the region that most complies with the government's climate measures and if we are not, a committee/chiringuito of the high marina will come out made up of public officials of all kinds who charge an extra for it... let's see if they report all those cases how many are confirmed and how many die... and how many are homosexual and how many were vaccinated would be milk... we are going to get the data right!
“Monkeypox, although it is a pathology with a very low lethality, points out Patricia Martín Rico, “it is necessary to have patients identified and isolated so that it does not become another sexually transmitted disease. It is important to establish the appropriate epidemiological measures and that the infected person does not have sexual relations of any kind and is isolated from their cohabitants, including domestic animals, since they act as a reservoir of monkeypox ".
Until October nothing. If we are already seeing that.