By Howler Magazine
A
hospital center reported the death of a person who was hospitalized with a
history of various underlying pathologies, among which he had received a
diagnosis of monkeypox 19 days before death. The health center is awaiting the
autopsy.
The
patient was a 30-year-old Costa Rican man who had been hospitalized. The
Ministry of Health did not specify the medical center. The event was recorded
in epidemiological week number 8, that is, between February 19 and 25.
Since
the beginning of the outbreaks in Europe and North America, however,
specialists have pointed out the low lethality of the disease.
In
Costa Rica, the first case of monkey or monkeypox was detected in June 2022.
Since then, Health reported, 373 cases have been investigated, of which 198
have been confirmed.
“Laboratory-confirmed cases are characterized by being mostly male
with an average age of 33 years,” it said.
On
the list of those affected, there are five women and until February 27, three
minors (two adolescents and a four-month-old baby).
Of
the total cases, 7% are foreigners. 55.6% of confirmed cases have a history of
pathologies that compromise the immune system. Health did not give references
on the remaining cases. The majority of cases are in the Central Valley, mainly
in San José and Heredia.
The
most common symptoms are skin lesions similar to pimples or blisters (painful
or itchy), appearing anywhere on the body, but more frequently on the genital,
perianal, face, hands, and feet regions.
There
may also be fever, chills, swollen glands, exhaustion, muscle aches, back pain,
and headache, as well as respiratory symptoms (eg, sore throat, stuffy nose, or
cough).
#monkeypox; #testkit; #CostaRica; #monkeypoxsymptoms;
#outbreaksinEuropeandNorthAmerica; #Howtoquicklyknowwhetherinfectedwithmonkeypox
Link from Howler
Magazine:
https://howlermag.com/2023/03/first-death-of-monkeypox-in-costa-rica-confirmed/