MONTEVIDEO, Aug 9 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Uruguay’s Health Ministry (MSP) confirmed the second case of monkeypox had been detected in the country while other three possible infections were under study.
The previous confirmation had been made July 29 after the patient underwent a PCR test. The MSP also reported on its social media accounts that ten other cases under evaluation turned out not to be of the disease.
The MSP insisted that, in case of symptoms related to monkeypox, people should consult their healthcare provider, who should in turn report any suspected case to the authorities for epidemiological monitoring.
Monkeypox usually lasts between two and four weeks. “While it is usually self-limiting, it can be serious in some people, such as children, pregnant women or people with immunosuppression,” the MSP stressed.
According to the MSP, a suspected case involves the presence in the person of an unexplained acute exanthema (skin rash), plus any of these symptoms: headache, sudden onset of fever (above 37.5ºC) or febrile sensation, myalgia, back pain, asthenia or lymphadenopathy.
During a recent meeting in Asunción, Mercosur Health Ministers came up with a joint statement regarding this malady.
“We reviewed the diagnostic criteria, the follow-up criteria, just-in-time information, the issue of diagnostic laboratories, the availability of vaccines, the criteria for the application of vaccines, what types of vaccines and what we want is to position the bloc as a voice with a certain weight within Pan-Americanism,” Uruguay’s Health Minister Daniel Salinas explained back then.
Salinas, who seeks to take over as Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) director, stressed precautions to prevent the spread of the disease should be “for the whole population, not just for one group,” in reference to the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting that the most cases of monkeypox were detected in men who have sex with other men.
Salinas has also announced Uruguay will receive some 6,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine between October and November. — NNN-MERCOPRESS
