Search on for money pox patient who escaped from health facility | Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

The patient who is Jamaica’s first confirmed case of monkeypox has absconded the health facility where he had been put into isolation pending his recovery.

Reports are that after noon today, the patient – who presented to the public health system on July 5, having arrived in Jamaica some five days earlier from the United Kingdom – left through a bathroom window of the facility and had a car waiting. The police have been called in and are investigating.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts are asked to contact the police immediately.

“Monkeypox is a viral disease that can be transmitted from person to person. It is therefore important that anyone with knowledge of the patient’s whereabouts contact the police so that he can be returned to isolation, pending the resolution of his illness,” said Minister of Health & Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton.

Symptoms of Monkeypox include fever, intense headache, swelling of the lymph nodes, back pain, muscle ache, lack of energy, and/or rash. Person-to-person spread occurs through:

direct contact with monkeypox skin lesions or scabs;contact with clothing or linens (such as bedding or towels) used by an infected person; andcoughing or sneezing of an individual with a Monkeypox rash.

The virus enters the body through broken skin (even if not visible), the respiratory tract, or the mucous membranes (eyes, nose, or mouth). The incubation period is between 5 and 21 days.

Members of the public who experience fever, intense headache, muscle aches and/or rash on the skin, must immediately isolate and call ahead to their health centre or doctor before visiting. All members of the public should wear a mask, frequently wash hands and practice physical distancing, as part of infection prevention and control efforts.

For additional information on Monkeypox, members of public can visit the Ministry’s website (www.moh.gov.jm) or contact their local Public Health Department.

NewsAmericasNow.com