Jamaica: monkeypox patient escapes isolation facility

In Jamaica, the patient confirmed as the island’s first case of monkeypox, has escaped from the health facility where he had been placed in isolation.

In a release, the Ministry of Health says the patient left through a bathroom window of the facility and had a car waiting.

Police have been called in to investigate.

Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton says monkeypox is a viral disease that can be transmitted from person to person, and it is therefore important that anyone with knowledge of the patient’s whereabouts contact the authorities so that he can be returned to isolation, pending resolution of his illness.

The patient had presented to the public health system on July 5th, having arrived in Jamaica some five days earlier from the United Kingdom.

Symptoms of Monkeypox include fever, intense headache, swelling of the lymph nodes, back pain, muscle ache, lack of energy, and/or 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.

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