Monkeypox (monkeypox) is spreading like an oil slick across the world. At the end of May, the first Dutchman was also diagnosed with monkeypox. Esther den Heijer is a social nurse and works in the monkeypox team of GGD Haaglanden. What exactly is monkeypox and how can you best protect yourself? “If you work with the right protective equipment and keep your distance, the chance of contamination is small.”
As a social nurse at the GGD, it is the task of Esther and her team to collect the correct information and distribute it again. They provide advice throughout the day to citizens, people with confirmed monkeypox or suspected monkeypox, their contacts, specialists and general practitioners. They also prepare work instructions, sample people with complaints, vaccinate the vulnerable target group and conduct source and contact research.
Wat is monkeypox?
Esther den Heijer: “Monkeypox, also popularly known as monkey pox, is an infectious disease that is passed on through intensive skin-to-skin contact or through mucous membrane contact. You may experience fever, muscle aches, headaches and fatigue. You also get smallpox. They look like pustules with a kind of crater in them. The moisture in it is very contagious. A few days before you get sick, you are already contagious. The infectious disease has been found in West and Central Africa for some time, but is now spreading all over the world. The infection was first found in animals in Africa, but I do not know whether infected animals have been found in Europe.”
“We are very busy with monkeypox at the moment. Having the infection can also be very painful. Monkeypox is now most commonly passed on by men who have sex with men. It can also be passed on through intensive cuddling, or through bedding. If someone has smallpox in their mouth, sitting close to and across from another and talking with consumption, the infection can also be passed on. The pustules can occur anywhere, but you see them mainly on the genitals, on the hands and near the mouth. But remember: monkeypox is not an STD and anyone can get it in principle. The number of infections is increasing at a rapid pace.”
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