…island on alert
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - HEALTH officials in Jamaica are on high alert for an uptick of Monkeypox virus cases, after confirming that the island’s first case of the contagious disease late yesterday (Jul. 6) afternoon.
At a media briefing in Kingston, Minister of Health Christopher Tufton announced that the individual is a male who travelled from the United Kingdom and was presented to a medical facility on Tuesday (Jul. 5).
The unidentified individual reportedly arrived on the island five days prior to presenting himself to the medical facility.
According to Tufton, “The patient has been isolated, having confirmatory tests done and his close contacts quarantined following contact tracing which will continue if necessary.”
Tufton said that the discovery had prompted health officials to activate a number of emergency proctors in line with the international guidelines.
Monkeypox was first discovered in Africa and has since spread across the globe to 53 countries.
Just recently, St. Lucia confirmed that an inbound crew member had tested positive for the virus.
Health officials in St. Kitts and Nevis are on high alert for the virus.
According to the United States Center for Disease Control, symptoms of the virus include skin rashes, fever. headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.
