WILLEMSTAD - The Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature (GMN) calls for extra vigilance with regard to the monkeypox virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared the virus an 'international public health hazard'.
GMN emphasizes that several cases of monkey pox have been identified since May in countries where this has not happened before. Anyone can become infected with the virus, but international figures show that 98 percent of the cases involve men who have sexual relations with men.
The Epidemiology and Infectious Disease Control departments of the Public Health Department (GGD) monitor the disease and work together with general practitioners, specialists and laboratories. There are currently no cases of monkeypox registered in Curaçao.
On Monday, the Sint Maarten Health Department announced that a patient infected with the Monkeypox virus has been identified on the French side of the island and was placed in solitary confinement.
Symptoms of Monkeypox can include; fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, respiratory symptoms (e.g. sore throat, nasal congestion, or cough, a rash that may be located on or near the genitals or anus but could also be on other areas like the hands, feet, chest, face, or mouth.
The rash can look like pimples or blisters and may be painful or itchy; they will go through several stages, including scabs, before healing.
Monkeypox symptoms usually start within 3 weeks of exposure to the virus. If someone has flu-like symptoms, they will usually develop a rash 1-4 days later.
The virus can be spread from the time symptoms start until the rash has healed, all scabs have fallen off, and a fresh layer of skin has formed. The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks.