Health issues guidance on fighting “monkeypox” and distributes it to…

02:18 PM

Sunday, August 18, 2024

Books – Ahmed Gomaa:

Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, Deputy Minister of Health and Ministry Spokesman, revealed that the Ministry will update the guidelines for dealing with smallpox, “Empox,” during the month of August.

Abdel Ghaffar said in statements to Masrawy, “The guide has been updated and distributed to the pharmaceutical departments, including the ports of entry to Egypt, and health affairs directorates at the republic level, to inform doctors on the latest developments in this disease and methods. diagnosis and treatment.”

The Deputy Minister of Health confirmed that no case of this disease has been found in Egypt, and that the chances of it spreading locally are “very low.”

The last update of the munkeypox guidelines was issued by the Risk Communication Unit in the Department of Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Health in January 2023, during the previous outbreak of the disease.

The guide includes: methods of transmission, incubation period of the disease, signs and symptoms of the disease, diagnosis of the disease between “clinical, laboratory and differential”, methods of treatment for mild to moderate cases, as well as cases suffering from risk factors, as well as measures to prevent the disease and reduce the risk.

The World Health Organization has previously concluded that the large increase in the outbreak of smallpox (Empox) in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (global health emergency) under the International Health Regulations (2005).

According to Agence France-Presse, a new strain of the virus, more deadly and more widespread than previous strains, was discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September 2023, raising fears about the spread of this virus.

Distemper is an infectious disease caused by a virus that is transmitted to humans through infected animals, and can be transmitted from person to person through close physical contact.

Last month, more than 100 laboratory-confirmed Category 1B cases were reported in four countries near the Democratic Republic of Congo that had not previously reported cases of Embux disease: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Experts believe that the actual number of cases is higher because a large percentage of cases that have clinical symptoms consistent with this disease have not been tested.

According to the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the death rate due to the virus is higher than 3%, and the most vulnerable are children under 15 years of age, who represent at least 60% of the number of infections.

According to the World Health Organization, common symptoms of “monkeypox” are a skin rash or mucous sores that last from 2 to 4 weeks and are accompanied by fever, headache, muscle pain, back pain, weakness, and swollen lymph nodes.

“Monkeypox” can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with an infected person or physical contact with contaminated materials or infected animals, while laboratory confirmation of monkeypox cases is done through tests to detect skin lesions using the ” polymerase chain reaction.”