Monkeypox

Overview

Across countries which are not endemic for monkeypox virus, there have been 2,103 laboratory confirmed cases and one probable case of monkeypox reported to WHO since the beginning of 2022 (data as of 15 June). This includes 42 Member Sates across five WHO regions. One death has been reported in Australia. The highest number of cases reported in a non-endemic country is the UK, and as of 15 June 524 cases have been reported there.

Cases which report a travel history have mostly travelled to countries in Europe and North America, therefore not acquiring infection from a country in West or Central Africa where the virus is endemic. Such cases have been reported unexpectedly at a similar time across several regions, which suggests that transmission may have been occurring for several weeks and gone undetected.

The global risk level assessed by WHO is moderate.

Cayman Islands

There are no known cases of monkeypox virus detected in Cayman Islands.

The Cayman Islands now have the capacity to diagnose Monkeypox at the Cayman Molecular Laboratory. This means that the laboratory was able to confirm a negative diagnosis for Monkey pox for the case of the young, male patient, who came to the attention of the Health Services a couple of weeks ago. This negative laboratory result, further supports the clinical diagnosis of Chicken pox for this individual.

Hypertension

In the body’s arteries, the force of the circulating blood against the arteries walls is called blood pressure. When the blood pressure is too high this is referred to as hypertension, which can often go undiagnosed as symptoms may not be noticeable. Globally, an estimated 46% of adults with hypertension are unaware. The only way to detect hypertension is to have a blood pressure test.

High blood pressure can put strain on your blood vessel, heart and other organs including the brain, kidneys and eyes. If hypertension persists, it can increase the risk of serious and potentially life-threatening conditions including:

• Strokes

• Heart failure

• Heart disease

• Heart attacks

• Kidney disease

• Peripheral arterial disease

• Aortic aneurysms

• Vascular dementia

Hypertension (continued)

There are several modifiable risk factors for hypertension, including consumption of tobacco and alcohol, physical inactivity, being overweight and obese and unhealthy diets. Addressing these risk factors with lifestyle changes can help to prevent and lower high blood pressure.

During 2021 in the Cayman Islands, provisional data indicates a total of 5,787 patients were seen at HSA with hypertension, which equates to 8.3% of the population. Of those patients with hypertension, 60% (3,474 patients) were female and the highest proportion of patients were aged 50-59 years (25%, n=1,442) and 60-69 years (25%, n=1,474). However, as this information is only relating to HSA, this does not indicate national prevalence of hypertension in Cayman Islands, and strengthening of surveillance nationally to include both public and private facilities would be beneficial to enable this.

The Public Health Spotlight is published weekly by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

For more information, contact gis@gov.ky