Jamaica has its first case of smallpox, announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare at an urgent digital press conference on July 6th. It is the second Caribbean territory to report a case of the disease so far.
Health Minister Christopher Tufton tweeted the news:
We have our first confirmed case of Monkeypox. The patient is a man who has recently traveled from the UK. He was presented to public health on July 5, having arrived on the island about five days earlier. pic.twitter.com/9gtYtL0OlP
– Dr. Chris Tufton (@christufton) July 6, 2022
In an interview with Radio Jamaica, he also took care to state, “This is not a crisis announcement,” and noted that while the disease, which has clearly visible symptoms, can be much easier to detect than COVID-19, there is no need to panic. However, a health worker tweeted:
My favorite part of working in primary care / public health is how every viral infection presents with fever, headache and muscle aches. Is it the flu? Is it dengue? Is it Covid? Is it Monkeypox? 🫠
– Robyn (@robynas_) July 6, 2022
The Ministry has assured citizens that health emergency protocols have been activated in accordance with international standards, including a review of all isolation facilities to manage both smallpox and COVID-19. According to these protocols, the patient has been isolated and their close contacts have been quarantined, after contact tracking.
Medical Director (CMO) Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie stressed that Jamaicans should continue to use the COVID-19 disinfection methods that are still in place in many offices and retail stores, and safeguard their personal health and hygiene, as suggested earlier this year.
The medical director, Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, encourages people to follow the disinfection protocols that would have been used during the COVID-19 pandemic. He says the monkey’s smallpox is spread through close contact and, if it is symptomatic, people are asked to stay home. pic.twitter.com/jCmAfgM3F4
– Jamaica Observer (@JamaicaObserver) July 6, 2022
With more than 6,000 cases in 58 countries, Europe has so far had the highest number of smallpox in the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) said:
“Testing remains a challenge and a significant number of cases are unlikely to be detected. Europe is the current epicenter of the outbreak, accounting for more than 80 per cent of #monkeypox cases worldwide” – @DrTedros
– World Health Organization (WHO) (@OMS) July 6, 2022
A Jamaican pointed to the origin of the infection:
The first case of Covid-19 in Jamaica came from ENGLAND. The first case of Monkey Pox in Jamaica also came from ENGLAND
Wtf.
– A thena (@ 6treena) July 6, 2022
However, Minister Tufton said screening at ports of entry is “always in place and on high alert now”, meaning medical teams have been set up to observe and take the necessary action. Concluding that a smallpox case of the monkey “does not create a crisis,” Minister Tufton suggested that daily life in Jamaica would be “as always.” The OCM Bisasor-McKenzie added that because the monkey’s smallpox “is not easily transmitted,” it only spreads through close contact with infected animals such as rodents or from person to person, it was less likely to become endemic in Jamaica. which, thanks to the Pan American Health Organization. (PAHO), has the ability in the country to test the disease.
Although there is no specific vaccine for monkeypox, the smallpox vaccine, now available in small quantities, can be effective. Smallpox was eradicated in Jamaica in 1980. The CMO confirmed that “preliminary discussions have taken place” and that the country’s health system, which offers a robust vaccination program, remains in close contact with Jamaica. PAHO on vaccine availability.
Bisasor-McKenzie noted that the first symptoms (fever, headache and exhaustion) “will resemble COVID-19 [so] stay home if you are sick, “she added, immunocompromised Jamaicans should take particular precautions. Deaths have been rare, however, for what she called a” fairly mild illness. “
While some media reports have given the impression that smallpox is a prevalent sexually transmitted disease among men who have sex with men (MSM), the CMO corrected this misconception, explaining that it is about ‘a’ close contact transmission, which can occur in any type of close encounter ‘.
Another doctor shared:
Although monkeypox can be transmitted during sex, it is NOT a sexually transmitted infection. It is transmitted through close contact. The vesicles can be anywhere on the body.
– Vaccinate children from 6 months (@thelaymansdr) July 6, 2022
Another Jamaican stressed this point:
EVERYONE IS AT RISK OF CONTRACTING THIS VIRUS !!
Monkeypox is not an ITS !!!!!
It spreads like chickenpox.
Don’t be dense and think it’s reversed for any “set” of people.
– Midas⚜️ (@chadmorganesq) July 6, 2022
Meanwhile, fears that the COVID-19 pandemic has opened the door to other viruses that alter the immune system continue to linger.
COVID-19 contraction and hospitalization rates for the Omicron variant are currently fairly stable in Jamaica. With low levels of testing, positivity rates have hovered between 15 and 20 percent. In a country with the lowest COVID vaccination rate in Latin America and the Caribbean and with high levels of public transportation, could the population of Jamaica be especially vulnerable?
Jamaica is the worst place for monkeypox. All this itching and skin-to-skin contact in taxis / buses
– TaeJen🇯🇲 (@goldenplum__) July 6, 2022
No new public health arrangements have yet been made for monkeypox, but the public is still advised to wear a mask when taking public transportation. A health worker also suggested that the country has learned valuable lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, but that now COVID-19 is noticeably “lighter” than it had been, Jamaicans have been pleased with the risks of infectious diseases?
With mask warrants and travel restrictions on Jamaica that had been disrupted on March 1, and tourist figures apparently on the rise, a Jamaican wondered if the monkey’s smallpox could be a call for attention for partygoers:
Jamaicans: Covid number down, we are out and not guh een
Monkey Pox: pic.twitter.com/0PS7spAyNp
– JordzW (@JordizzleJ) July 6, 2022
The local entertainment sector has been fully open since March 18 and the country is preparing for a number of public events, parties and concerts during the summer, including Carnival events throughout July and the Reggae Sumfest at the end of the month, all in celebration. of the 60th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence on August 6th. Only time will tell if the arrival of the monkey’s smallpox will block the planned revelry.