While Morocco announced on Monday May 23 that it had discovered three suspected cases of monkeypox on its territory, which turned out to be negative, the health authorities claim to have already initiated measures to counter any possible importation of the disease. , in order to consolidate surveillance, among other things, by strengthening controls at airports, ports and border crossings.
The response is therefore organized. The Moroccan Ministry of Health has published a surveillance and response plan for the detection and treatment of cases of monkeypox. Titled “Monkey pox: National Surveillance and Response Plan,” the document presents, among other things, the latest updates on the global spread of the disease.
Among its recommendations motivated by national health protection, the ministry urges to immediately report any suspected case to public or private health establishments. The latter will be responsible for contacting the regional health authorities to verify the case and launch an epidemiological investigation in the event that the case is classified as probable.
The disease has already affected several countries around the world. Monkeypox is usually a mild disease. Symptoms appear between six and 16 days after infection: fever, rash (pimples filled with white fluid developing on areas of the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet or other parts of the body)…
Monkeypox is transmitted primarily through close skin-to-skin contact with infected respiratory tract secretions, skin lesions of an infected person, or material from a patient’s lesions.
According to the WHO, the outbreak of monkeypox remains « containable », although the number of cases is increasing day by day. More than 250 confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox have been identified since the detection of the first case on May 7 outside the usual foci of the disease.
« The latest data provided by WHO Member States as of 22 May show more than 250 confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox from 16 countries and several WHO regions, » said the Chief of the Smallpox Secretariat of the WHO Emergency Program, Dr. Rosamund Lewis, during a recent UN press conference in Geneva.
“What we know about this virus and these modes of transmission, this outbreak can still be contained, it is the goal of WHO and member states to contain this outbreak and stop it,” he said. -she reassured
In his words, “The risk to the general public therefore appears to be low, as we know that the main modes of transmission have been those described in the past”.
By OMA Newsletter N° 716 of 05/25/2022
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