CANCER PATIENT DIES AFTER SUSPECTED HOSPITAL TRANSMISSION OF MPOX

SAN SEBASTIAN, OCTOBER 8 /SRNA/ - A 61-year-old cancer patient died at a hospital in San Sebastian from complications of Mpox and is believed to have contracted the infection while being treated there, Basque health authorities said today.

Sources at Donostia Hospital said the patient had been hospitalized for several weeks because of cancer but was not in the terminal stage of the disease, El Pais reported.

It is believed that he became infected after sharing space with another patient who had an infectious illness and was later confirmed to have Mpox.

After the infection was confirmed, the second patient was isolated and later discharged from hospital with instructions to remain in isolation at home.

Doctor Sara Arevalo said the death was recorded on Tuesday, October 6, adding that it was the first fatal case of the disease registered in the Basque Country.

After the case was confirmed, the hospital introduced epidemiological measures, and more than 30 people, mostly healthcare workers who had been in contact with the patients, were vaccinated and placed under monitoring.

Hospital officials said the possibility of further infections linked to the case was "very low".