Smallpox of the monkeys, the first case in Sardinia: he is a 40 year old at the Santissima Trinità

The first confirmed case of monkeypox in Sardinia has been detected by the laboratories of the Aou of Cagliari, at the Policlinico di Monserrato.

It is a patient residing in South Sardinia hospitalized at the Santissima Trinità in Cagliari . The man, about 40 years old, was already hospitalized for Covid at the Is Mirrionis hospital.

“My thanks go to the doctors and staff of the Holy Trinity, who are credited with having recognized the problem promptly and taking all necessary precautions. Having discovered the case shows how the alert and detection system is active and works very well in Sardinia ”, declares the regional councilor for health, Mario Nieddu .

“Given the skin lesions, the pulmonologist requested an in-depth clinical diagnosis - he explains -. The Aou laboratory in Cagliari was then activated to perform tests on the material collected. Confirmation in less than ten hours . It is the first and only confirmed case, he is currently being treated with targeted antiviral therapy and is in fair condition. In the meantime, checks will be extended and contacts evaluated, but at present the situation does not cause concern ”.

INFECTION - Monkeypox, monkeypo (MPX), is an infectious disease caused by an Orthopoxvirus (Pox Viridae), a virus similar to the one that causes human smallpox (from which it differs in less diffusivity and severity). While human smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980 by the World Health Organization, monkeypox is still present in an endemic form in countries of central and western Africa .

It is a zoonosis that can affect humans through contact with infected animals, in particular primates and small rodents. Infection is transmitted from animals to humans through saliva and other body fluids or direct contact , while inter-human contagion appears to be poorly efficient and requires close contact. Monkeypox in humans begins with nonspecific symptoms (fever, headache, chills, asthenia, enlarged lymph nodes, and muscle aches). The rash appears within three days: it first affects the face and spreads to other parts of the body, including the hands and feet.

The skin lesions evolve in the form of a papule, then a vesicle, a pustule and finally a crust. Skin lesions generally have a homogeneous evolution, differently from what happens, for example, in chickenpox. For most people, monkeypox is a self-limiting disease , lasting two to four weeks, with complete recovery.

(Unioneonline / D)