Medical Association advises not to be alarmed by the possible presence of monkeypox in the DR

Monkeypox is nothing new, nor does it mean a risk of massive contagion for the Dominican population, so the appearance of a first suspected case should not be a cause for alarm, according to the reflection of Dr. Senén Caba, president of the Dominican Medical College (CMD).

The situation with this smallpox is not the same as that of the covid-19 virus for several reasons explained by the doctor.

The first is that people vaccinated against smallpox have the immunity of over 80%, and the second is that only fragile organisms would be vulnerable to contagion. The youngest are not vaccinated against smallpox since the pathogen was eradicated.

Senén Caba gives examples of susceptible patients, people with cancer, poorly treated diabetes, and the elderly.

He ensures that lethality and contagion are very low. The African variant has a mortality rate of 10% and the Western one almost 2%. Direct contact is needed to transmit the pathogen.

The first human case was detected in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the first case in the West occurred in 2003 in the United States.

The doctor considers that the main thing is to keep the population well informed to avoid alarm. For the rest, Caba considers that the health authorities can manage the disease in the country.

Public Health has not yet confirmed whether the Dominican with suspicious symptoms who came from the United States and is in the Ramón de Lara hospital has monkeypox.

Dengue

In another order, the president of the CMD emphasized the importance of preventing dengue spread after the rainy season.