The first case of monkeypox, which recently spread from Africa to other countries, was previously confirmed in the Czech Republic. This is stated by the State Institute of Public Health, whose laboratory examines samples suspected of being infected. The patient is at the Central Military Hospital in Prague. According to the institute, he stayed in early May at a music festival in Antwerp, Belgium.
Pavel Dlouh draws attention to the first confirmed case with reference to the chairman of the Infectious Medicine Society of the Czech Medical Society, Jan Evangelista Purkyně Pavel Dlouh Message list. According to him, the patient is in the Central Military Hospital in Prague.
The hospital said patients were isolated and staff were wearing personal protective equipment. “He is not receiving specific treatment for smallpox, he is stable, only symptoms of the disease are being treated,” hospital spokeswoman Jitka Zinke wrote.
The National Reference Laboratory of Influenza and Non-Influenza Viral Diseases said it was an early confirmation because the samples were examined by electron microscopy on Tuesday morning. For final confirmation, according to laboratory head Helena Jiřincová, it is necessary to carry out whole genome sequencing or the PCR method. “The final results will probably be known next week,” he said.
In total, the laboratory received three samples, but the other two were negative, the agency informed in the afternoon.
Immediately after the suspicion of chickenpox infection, the Prague Hygiene Station has launched an epidemiological investigation to determine the possible risk contacts of patients and to establish anti-epidemic measures for them, especially quarantine.
“In general, he stayed with his friends at a music festival in Antwerp, Belgium, in early May. Upon his return, he began to experience the first non-specific symptoms from red to watery eyes, although there was a gradual increase in body temperature from 37, 5 to 39 degrees Celsius, until the appearance of painful pimples on the skin resembling pimples on certain body parts.
Infection can be asymptomatic
Smallpox is a rare viral disease that is similar to smallpox, but usually has milder manifestations. According to experts, long-term and close contact is necessary for the transfer. They were first recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 1970s and now occur in parts of Central and West Africa. Until recently, this disease was rare in other parts of the world. They are named after the ape monkeys where the virus was first discovered in the late 1950s. However, this disease is more common in rodents and other small mammals.
The disease is usually not serious. The incubation period is 14 to 21 days and infection can be asymptomatic, such as fever, headache, and muscle aches. The rash appears one to three days after the onset of fever. It starts on the face or trunk and spreads gradually to other parts of the body, including the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The disease lasts two to four weeks without the patient having to follow any special treatment.
The World Health Organization said Tuesday it registered 131 confirmed cases of monkeypox and 106 suspected cases of the disease in 19 countries where the disease is not common. In Europe, this disease has occurred, for example in Denmark, Scotland, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, and Austria.
Does smallpox vaccination protect?
Health Ministry spokesman Ondřej Jakob said there was no data on whether the smallpox vaccine also protects against smallpox. However, experts believe that because of the similarity of the viruses, they could be effective, said the chairman of the Czech Vaccine Society, Roman Chlíbek.
People who were vaccinated in the Czech Republic before 1980, when general vaccination ended, but according to him, have almost no protection. However, according to the opinion of the Society of Infectious Medicine of the Czech Medical Society of Jan Evangelista Purkyn, being vaccinated can protect against serious processes.
Video: How a person is infected and how monkeypox progresses
The global spread of monkeypox is a cause for concern, but not a panic, said Professor Jimmy Whitworth from the UK. | Video: Reuters
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