Por Redacción Intertextual
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Dr. Leonel Arguello, a medical specialist in epidemiology, reports cases of chickenpox outbreaks in boys and girls, information obtained from medical colleagues who have treated patients.
The specialist warns “if there were no cases before, this is considered an epidemic, and all prevention and control measures must be taken to avoid more sick and complicated people.”
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The Nicaraguan population is already beginning to worry about the new epidemic called “Monkeypox,” when the Covid-19 epidemic that claimed hundreds of lives is barely controlled. According to official reports until May 25, 18,491 people were confirmed with symptoms associated with Covid-19 and 237 people died.
According to the UK Health Security Agency “Monkeypox is considered a close relative of the smallpox virus, an infectious disease. The main route of transmission “is close contact.”
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For its part, the World Health Organization, WHO adds that “Monkey Pox” is a viral zoonosis; a disease caused by the virus transmitted from animals to people, similar to smallpox but less serious.”
On the other hand, chickenpox, according to specialists “is an infection caused by the Varicella Zoster virus, this disease is contagious for people who have not had the disease before or have not been vaccinated.”
Infections by Monkeypox and Varicella, their differences
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Monkeypox is transmitted by direct or indirect contact with blood, fluids, skin lesions, or mucosa of infected animals. Instead, the spread of Chickenpox is through direct contact with the rash, the virus can be spread when a person with chickenpox coughs or sneezes, according to the Mayo Clinic health platform.
Tarik Jasarevic, the spokesman for the European office of the World Health Organization, launched a message to reassure people about this new pandemic by stating that Monkeypox does not usually spread easily between people, since it requires close contact. This outbreak is controllable as the risk to the public appears to be below. However, immediate action by countries is required to control the potential for further transmission,” he warned.
Until five days ago, people with Monkeypox have been registered in some continents, on May 6 the United Kingdom identified the first case, in London, Portugal, Spain, the United States, Canada, Italy, and Sweden. The WHO launched a global state of emergency in the face of these first cases.
At the moment the WHO indicated that the vaccine against Smallpox known in advance is quite effective against this new Monkeypox pandemic, protecting 85{e079e928c0ffac93fc2d0bcb855951dc424555b296fe89c532c6f4d7d2083413} of people from the severity of the disease.
Likewise, the best way to prevent chickenpox is with the vaccine, offering 95{e079e928c0ffac93fc2d0bcb855951dc424555b296fe89c532c6f4d7d2083413} protection, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC.
Chickenpox is a disease that causes a rash with itchy blisters and fever. People with chickenpox can have as many as or more than 500 blisters. The rash can spread over the entire body. This disease can be serious and even life-threatening, especially in infants, adolescents, adults, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems, “adds the CDC.
The alarm that in Nicaragua the epidemiologist Leonel Arguello is identifying with Chickenpox, is to pay attention to the symptoms, because of 10 people who come into contact with a sick person, 9 become infected and the cases could increase rapidly, more in schools and workplaces.
Symptoms and how to counter them
A person infected with Chickenpox can present “fever, fatigue, and headache, it is very itchy and rash on the face, chest and back where the blisters come out and in other parts of the body including inside the mouth, eyelids and genital area, oscillate between 250 to 500 lesions, in a week the scabs are made, it gives a lot of itching and rash that can be treated with calamine, skin creams that contain crotamiton and hydrocortisone, the pulp of Aloe Vera, finely ground oatmeal mixed with a little water warm to form a paste and applied, these remedies can soothe and reduce the itching of the rash,” explains Leonel Arguello.
One possible way to prevent chickenpox is by getting vaccinated at an early age, says the epidemiologist. “The first dose is applied at the age of 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years, for the following age groups there are two doses with an interval of one month, their secondary reactions are fever, pain at the site of injection and rash. It does not put people allergic to the antibiotic Neomycin or those who have anaphylaxis or pregnant women.”
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Other recommendations that it offers, in case of contagion, is that care should be taken at home in the use of bedding, towels, and constant hand washing with plenty of soap and water, and take acetaminophen for fever if there is.
