First mpox death in Basque Country reported at Donostia Hospital

Cancer patient dies of mpox after sharing room at Donostia Hospital

A 61-year-old man admitted for oncological treatment in the Otorhinolaryngology department of Donostia Hospital has died after contracting mpox (monkeypox) from another patient with whom he shared a room. This is the first person to die with or from this infection in the Basque Country, raising an uncomfortable question: how did an immunocompromised patient end up sharing space with someone infectious at Gipuzkoa’s reference center?

The deceased had a tumor in his throat and neck and had been hospitalized for weeks. The other patient, admitted for a throat condition, was being treated with antibiotics for an infectious issue when his positive mpox status was still unknown. Once confirmed, he was discharged: mpox isolation is better managed at home, according to the hospital.

What Donostia Hospital officials say

Miguel Ángel Goenaga, Head of Infectious Diseases, appeared alongside Medical Director Sara Arévalo with a key statement: the patient died with mpox, not necessarily from it. Goenaga noted the deceased had serious underlying conditions and very low immunity, leaving open the possibility that a prior infection was the final cause.

Regarding transmission, the specialist suggested patients might have contacted each other at night or due to some incident. Osakidetza has vaccinated at least 30 close contacts of both cases to break the chain.

The unanswered question: why they shared a room

Health professionals are most concerned by what the official statement does not clarify: why an immunocompromised cancer patient shared a room with someone having an infectious pathology. Standard practice, they admit, involves prevention and isolation measures. Goenaga acknowledged the deceased had previous infections.

Some argue the bicho caused the death; others contend that a chemotherapy-depleted immune system makes any bacteria lethal. The debate on shared-room protocols continues, with EH Bildu submitting questions to the Basque Parliament demanding clarity on further outbreak cases and adopted measures.

Mpox data in Spain and the Basque Country

Since 2022 through late September, 10,535 cases have been diagnosed in Spain, 290 of them in the Basque Country. Most occurred in 2022 trinc outbreaks linked to events like Maspalomas Pride. However, there is a real surge: in the Basque Country, cases rose from 8 in all of 2025 to 35 in the first nine months of this year.

Two other people have died from mpox in Spain this year, both HIV-positive. Mpox spreads through close contact, skin-to-skin, or contaminated objects, with an incubation period of 3 to 17 days, and complicates in immunocompromised individuals, infants, pregnant women, and eczema patients.

The analysis stalls here: no one has yet explained why a tertiary hospital placed an immunocompromised patient next to an infectious one without knowing the latter’s status.