What is Mpox? The disease that has already claimed five lives in Mexico

2250

The Ministry of Health reported on the progress of Monkey Pox in Mexico, a disease that has already claimed five lives.

Monkey Pox is an infectious disease that is transmitted from animals to humans and has generated a state of global alert, since June 2022, when there was an increase in cases in the different continents, according to data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Even though the first recorded case dates to 1958, it had not generated a global alert because the outbreaks of this disease were limited to central and eastern Africa, where the first case originated.

However, in the middle of last year, Mpox cases began to increase in Europe, Asia and America, generating a state of alert for a possible pandemic, only in Mexico there have been 6,687 infected people.

Is Mpox deadly?

The Ministry of Health reported a drastic increase in Mpox in the last 14 days, since there are 62 new cases suspected and 19 confirmed, Mexico City is the area of the country with the highest number of cases, since the 6,687 known, there were 2036 infections.

Another piece of information provided by national and international government health institutions is that the mortality rate is relatively low and that it mostly affects people with a compromised immune system.

In other words, Monkey Pox has a high probability of being fatal for people suffering from Diabetes Mellitus, HIV, syphilis, or other similar diseases.

Almost a year after the first appearance of Monkey Pox in Mexico, 23 deaths of people with skin lesions compatible with those that appear when infected with this disease have been recorded.

But only five have been confirmed with laboratory studies, the other 18 are still in testing.

“This disease lasts an average of 21 days and is transmitted by direct contact with the secretions of a sick person through mucous membranes or skin lesions, respiratory droplets and objects contaminated with body fluids,” said the World Health Secretariat.

Likewise, the health institution announced that of the total known cases, 97% of them had occurred in men and only 3% in women, with most of the patients being adults between 30 and 34 years of age.

Source: Regeneracion