CONCERNED medics have raised fears of a fresh monkeypox outbreak after a new case was confirmed on the Costa del Sol.
A patient has been rushed to hospital in Marbella, prompting Spanish nursing union SATSE to demand they be quarantined in an infectious unit.
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The diagnosis was made public after SATSE revealed that someone suffering from the virus is being treated on the cardiology floor “due to lack of space”.
Health chiefs insist the necessary safety steps are being taken, but the union has demanded a special unit be set up to contain the disease.
Details such as the patient’s nationality and age have not been released, but they are believed to be a man.
It is understood that the diagnosis was confirmed before they arrived at hospital, which suggests that his condition had worsened.
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The union says the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) must put into operation the Infectious Diseases Unit as a matter of urgency.
But the ministry insists that “the hospital has the necessary infrastructure to address this type of case” in accordance with the established protocols.
All staff and patients who might have come into contact with the patient are being dealt with under a strict protocol.
It is the second case of Mpox confirmed on the Costa del Sol since a terrifying outbreak in May 2022.
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The National Centre for Microbiology confirmed the case after analysing the samples of a patient resident in the province.
However, other cases of monkeypox in Spain were detected earlier this year, giving rise to fears that the virus is starting to circulate again.
Two cases in A Coruna were linked to a sauna.
Mpox is mainly transmitted by prolonged and close physical contact, and initial symptoms are mild.
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Mpox and the types explained
MPOX is a viral infectious disease.
It is a rare zoonosis, which means that it is transmitted to humans from an animal.
The disease primarily occurs in remote parts of Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.
Mpox causes symptoms between five and 21 days after exposure.
The symptoms of monkeypox start similar to the flu. But then a rash breaks out, starting on the face.
Initial symptoms include:
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Backache
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Chills
- Exhaustion
An itchy and sometimes painful rash slowly appears one to three days into illness, starting with the face, palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
What starts as a seemingly harmless red rash – which looks like chickenpox – evolves into angry blisters that can last several days.
The inside of the mouth, genitals and lining of the eyes can also be affected by the nasty rash.
If the rash spreads to the eyes it can cause blindness.
While some patients may have only a few lesions, others will have thousands, the WHO says.
Symptoms generally last from 14 to 21 days, with severe cases relating to age, the extent of virus exposure, the patient’s health and the severity of complications.
What are the different mpox Clades?
There are two distinct mpox Clades:
- Clade 1 (with subclades 1a and 1b)
- Clade 2 (with subclades 2a and 2b)
Clade 2 (subclade 2b) was responsible for the global mpox outbreak in 2022-2023. Over 100,000 cases were reported across the world.
Clade 1b emerged in 2023-2024 and has swept mainly through central Africa, infecting tens of thousands since the outbreak began.
Countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo have been hit especially hard with cases also spotted in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the clade 1b outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in August 2024, due to rapid expansion and higher severity compared to clade 2.
The Junta de Andalucía explained that a person without symptoms cannot transmit it.
But SATSE says the cardiology floor does not have the specific infrastructures that the hospitalisation of patients with infectious diseases requires.
It added that the safety of health professionals and patients is at risk.
The union demands that the infectious diseases unit at the Costa del Sol hospital is underused and should now be fully opened.
The union said: “There is no justification for placing infectious disease patients in non-authorised floors.”
In 2023, the health administration reported that it was working on faster and more accurate monitoring of any new emerging virus that could pose a public health problem.
To this end, hospitals in Seville and Granada are preparing a PCR screening and identification system.
Mpox’s period of transmissibility is usually from when symptoms first appear.
It can also be from the day before lesions appear if the rash is the first symptom and remains so until all the lesions have healed, the scabs have detached and new skin has formed.
The condition can be self-limiting and most patients recover in a few weeks, but complications such as pneumonia and sepsis can occur.
The incubation period could range from five to 21 days, although the cases studied in Spain pointed to an average of seven to ten days.
Mpox initially causes fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and swollen glands.
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Lesions appear a few days after the fever and frequently presented in the genital, perianal and perioral areas during the 2022 outbreak.
They evolve several times before finally ending up as scabs.