Los Cabos: The Status of Monkeypox in the State of Baja California Sur
The rising trend in the number of people with monkey symptoms has continued, with 26 cases reported in the last two months in Baja California Sur.
Baja California Sur health officials revealed that 26 suspected cases of monkeypox had been registered in the state in the last two months, with only one confirmed positive in the municipality of Los Cabos.
In this context, Alfredo Ojeda, Deputy Director of Epidemiology at the Secretariat of Health, remarked that while no new cases have been identified in Baja California Sur, health officials are keeping a close eye out for the disease's existence.
The state employee explained that people should attend to the entity's health centers if they have symptoms like fever and rashes with sores that look like pimples or blisters.
It is important to remember that if a case of smallpox is suspected, hospitals must send a sample of the patient to the Institute of Diagnosis and Epidemiological Reference (InDRE), which is the only one authorized by the Federal Health Secretariat to perform this analysis, and then the result is obtained.
Symptoms of symptomatic smallpox include fever and headache, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, or groin.
On July 29, 2022, health authorities confirmed the first case of this disease in the state; it was a 24-year-old male, originally from and resident of the municipality of Los Cabos, who did not present disease complications; this first case had a history of having lived abroad, during the first days of July, with a person who had a positive diagnosis of the disease in the previous 15 days.
Symptoms of symptomatic smallpox include fever and headache, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, or groin, back discomfort and muscular aches, and a lack of energy.
It causes a rash and painful lesions that can form anywhere on the body, including the face, arms, and legs. The sores crust over and recover within two to three weeks, after which the person no longer distributes the disease.
Finally, the incubation time is usually 7 to 14 days, but it can range from 5 to 21 days. Cases that can become problematic are in persons who have immune system problems and low defenses, either due to a pathology such as cancer.
