Monkeypox Party Warning | Lead Story

As plans for summer entertainment and other activities go into full swing, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jacqueline Visasol Mackenzie has developed an established protocol to reduce the likelihood of infection with infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and monkeypox. We warn party participants to comply.

Monkeypox is a rare disease similar to smallpox and can be transmitted by contact or exposure to droplets.

Yesterday, at an emergency press conference hosted by Health and Welfare Minister Dr. Christopher Tuffton and other senior health authorities, it was announced that a man who recently traveled from the United Kingdom tested positive for monkeypox.

Tuffton told journalists that the man appeared in the public health system on July 5, when he arrived five days ago.

The patient was quarantined and his close contact was quarantined following contact tracing.

Bisasor McKenzie said Jamaicans must now be sensitive to the spread of the disease through close contact.

She also reminded the country that the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing and said close contact should be avoided to prevent the spread of the disease.

Bisasor McKenzie warned that no one knows when new and more serious tensions will occur.

The threat to health is evolving as the local party season intensifies summer parties and carnival rollouts and prepares to move to full equipment. The carnival attracts up to 100,000 delights annually. Party participants and promoters tired of the blockade, which has suffered losses and small profits since 2020, are spoiled after the entertainment sector has been on the ice for two years as the government tried to curb COVID infection rates. I’m trying.

Health officials haven’t lost the potential for these events to become super-spreaders, as they cautioned at yesterday’s briefing.

“So, for anyone planning to go out and have a party, this should be kept in mind. Close contact is still something that should be avoided, wearing masks, disinfecting, You need to take precautions, such as frequent hand washing, to prevent contact, “said Bisasor McKenzie.

Some of the symptoms of monkeypox are similar to those of COVID-19, so the Chief Medical Officer urged sick Jamaicans to stay home.

Most monkeypox patients experience only fever, body aches, chills, and malaise. People with more serious illnesses have rashes and lesions on their faces and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.

“Recognizing that a rash has begun, there is a possibility of monkeypox, and there are more reasons to stay at home,” she emphasizes, further covering Jamaicans with all kinds of rashes that occur on the skin. I advised you to. To protect others.

The incubation period for monkeypox is 5 to 21 days, but Bisasor McKenzie explained that it is uncertain whether a person can be infected with the disease during this period.

She said studies are underway to determine at what stage of the incubation period an infected person can infect monkeypox.

“We certainly know that when a person becomes symptomatic and begins to develop respiratory symptoms, it can be communicated by droplet infection,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health and Welfare said there would be no adjustments to the way public transport operates following the first confirmed case of monkeypox on the island.

The disease is endemic in parts of Africa and people are infected by bites from rodents and small animals. It usually does not spread easily among people.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday that more than 6,000 cases have been detected in at least 58 countries in the current outbreak after the first outbreaks began in Europe and the United States in May.

“I’m still concerned about the size and spread of the virus around the world,” said WHO Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Gebreez yesterday.

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