Eight more cases of monkeypox confirmed, increasing the accumulated total to 21 on the island

The Health Department confirmed this afternoon eight more cases of monkeypox, all in men between 20 and 59 years old, four of whom have no travel history, which confirms that there is already community transmission of this disease.

With this figure, there are already 21 confirmed cases on the island, for which the agency called on the population at risk to vaccinate.

“The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the World Health Organization have identified populations at risk. These are people who have multiple sexual partners or who meet people through dating apps and have had skin-to-skin contact. To these populations, in particular, we make a call to attend a Vaccination Center and thus administer the vaccine against monkeypox “said Carlos Mellado López, Secretary of Health.

In written statements, the official warned that the risk of contagion for this virus is low for the community in general. The World Health Organization declared a global emergency last week for this disease, which in Puerto Rico and other parts of the world has already been declared an outbreak.

In Puerto Rico, it was reported that Salud established 23 vaccination centers. These are located in the CLETS (Latin American Center for Communicable Diseases) and CPTET (Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Communicable Diseases) Clinics, as well as in some 330 Centers and specialized health offices in some hospitals.

Dr. Iris Cardona, chief medical officer of Health, reported that people must meet at least one of two criteria to be eligible to receive this vaccine. These are, being a close contact of a confirmed or suspected case of this virus or people who in the last 21 days have had multiple sexual partners or have met people through a mobile application and had skin-to-skin contact.

“Both public health emergencies, COVID-19 and monkeypox, require the use of universal prevention measures: frequent hand washing, use of a mask covering the nose, mouth and chin, and physical distancing. We are all susceptible, the Orthopox virus can give it to anyone, so it is always advisable to maintain universal prevention precautions. In particular, as a recommendation to the international outbreak associated with the Orthopox virus, reduce close skin-to-skin contact with other people and, if you are a candidate for vaccination, call the participating clinics to coordinate eligibility and appointment,” indicated, for its part, the Dr Melissa Marzanchief epidemiological officer of Health.

For his part, the Secretary of Health stressed that people suspected of contagion should isolate themselves and contact their medical provider immediately for proper evaluation. It was also reported that health providers should call 787-404-5361 for inquiries about this disease.

Among the eight confirmed cases are people from 20 to 29 years old (4 cases), 30 to 39 years old (1 case), 40 to 49 years old (2 cases) and 50 to 59 years old (1 case). Four of the eight confirmed cases have travel history.