A patient with monkeypox has been admitted to Marbella’s Costa del Sol Hospital, but local health authorities say there is no need for alarm.
It is only the second mpox case, as the disease is now known, recorded on the Costa del Sol. The first was detected in May 2022, the year of the global outbreak, while Malaga province as a whole went on to register 12 infections in 2023.
Andalucia’s health department have confirmed the case, adding that the man arrived at the Marbella complex already diagnosed. A strict protocol was applied from the moment he was identified on site, with measures taken to protect other inpatients and hospital staff.
Nursing union SATSE has expressed concerns over how the case is being handled.
It says the patient is being looked after on the cardiology ward, which has none of the infrastructure needed to house highly transmissible cases.
Health bosses insist the hospital has the infrastructure it needs and that the protocol does not oblige them to keep such patients in a dedicated unit.
Mpox is a viral disease that can pass from animals to people.
It is usually self-limiting and most patients recover within a few weeks, though it can turn serious in children, pregnant women, young adults and the immunocompromised.
Incubation runs from five to 21 days, typically beginning with fever, headache, muscle pain, swollen glands and fatigue.
Skin lesions follow one to five days later, and symptoms generally last between two and four weeks.
Transmission requires close, direct physical contact with lesions or bodily fluids – most often during sex, or through the prolonged contact of sharing a home.
Andalucian guidance defines close contact as unprotected physical contact with lesions or fluids, sex, handling clothes or bedding, or spending a long period of time within a metre of someone infected.
Health authorities also advise against sharing towels, bedding, clothes, cutlery or glasses, recommend washing laundry at 60 degrees, and disinfecting contaminated surfaces.
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