A sample from a young patient in Cayman diagnosed with chickenpox is being sent to a Caribbean Public Health Agency laboratory to determine if it could be monkeypox, health officials confirmed Wednesday.
According to a statement from the Public Health Department, “out of an abundance of caution”, a sample from the patient, who has rash and fever, will be investigated for monkeypox at the CARPHA lab in Trinidad.
Contact tracing by Public Health had determined that close contacts of the patient have also been diagnosed with chickenpox.
“Monkeypox, which has recently been confirmed as circulating in countries where it is not endemic, has symptoms similar to chickenpox,” Public Health noted in its statement.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Autilia Newton said it will take CARPHA one to two weeks to process the sample.
She said the patient had been “promptly isolated” as chickenpox is an infectious disease, and that contact tracing had been completed.
“Other instances of chickenpox were found among close contacts of this case, and infection control measures were put in place to prevent spread,” she said.
Newton added, “We want to further reassure the public that they can prevent the spread of the chickenpox and monkeypox virus by practising good hand hygiene, wearing masks, and avoiding contact with the lesions of any person who has a new rash and raised temperature.”
They should also seek medical attention if they experience these symptoms, she said.
Minister of Health Sabrina Turner, in the statement, said her ministry would share the outcome of the testing with the public via public health updates through local media and on the government website.
“Our Public Health Department is blessed with highly trained and highly experienced surveillance experts known for their effectiveness. This case is a successful example of the system at work. It allowed us to quickly identify a potential case, assess and deal with the matter locally, but also to send a sample to CARPHA for ease of mind, given the current spread of monkeypox. I am confident we will be able to deal with any scenario,” she said.
Monkeypox is caused by the monkeypox virus, and is closely related to the viruses that cause cowpox and smallpox. While symptoms resemble chickenpox, the fluid-filled lesions are larger and accompanied by high fever and swollen glands.
According to a 31 May update from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, a total of 557 cases of monkeypox had been confirmed worldwide in countries where it is not endemic.
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