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Caribbean monitoring spread of Monkey-pox
– but no restriction of entry of persons from any country
Kaieteur News – The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) said it is monitoring the spread of Monkey Pox in the region, but is not recommending restrictions on entry of persons from any country.
Thus far The Bahamas, Barbados and Jamaica have recorded cases of Monkeypox. In a press release CARPHA said that Member States should continue to remain on high alert for the importation of viral or other infections and monitor in country syndromic surveillance systems for increases in fever and rash illnesses. “At CARPHA we coordinate public health policy and work closely with our Member States and other public health partners to respond to public health issues. As part of our regional public health management, we provide assistance to Member States through the development of tools for investigation and epidemiological monitoring, and personnel are prepared to respond in country to assist in the investigation and control of outbreak, should the need arise,” stated Dr. Joy St. John, Executive Director at the Caribbean Public Health Agency.
Dr. St. John further stated “We know that diseases do not recognize borders, and international travel makes us aware that no borders are secure from the threat of diseases, especially infectious ones. At this time, Member States are in various stages of easing of restrictions for COVID-19 which severely impacted the Region.” CARPHA said it is monitoring the spread of the monkeypox virus – looking at prevention and control. “We have also commenced testing for the monkeypox virus. At this time, CARPHA does not recommend restrictions on entry of persons from any country. Working alongside our Member States, we will support activities and educate the public to protect the health of all within their borders,” the release added.
Meanwhile, in its Situation Report last week PAHO disclosed that there were some 1,981 confirmed cases from 15 countries and territories in the Americas. According to the PAHO report, most of confirmed cases are male (99%), 79% are aged 25 to 45 years old, and most self-identify as men who have sex with other men. 65% of cases in the Americas are local transmitted cases (increase of 6% since the last Situation Report on 8 July 2022).
The Ministry of Health last week reported that it will continue monitoring, and be on high alert for possible cases of Monkeypox as the virus has been detected in more than 40 countries already. Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony, recently stated that the country now has the capability to test for the virus, if the need arises. Guyana’s local health authorities, with guidance from the Ministry of Health, are preparing to address any possible case of the virus, locally. “We have the capability if it’s necessary to do these types of tests so that’s how we have been preparing…We did not have that capability but we’ve sent persons to train and they’re now back at the Public Health Reference lab and they would be able, if it is necessary, to run these samples, they would have the competence to do so,” he pointed out.
The minister said training was conducted by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and was rolled -out for Caribbean regions. Symptoms of Monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, and rashes that can look like pimples or blisters that appear on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Monkeypox can be transmitted from animal-to-human (zoonotic) by direct contact with blood, bodily fluids, or cutaneous or mucosal lesions of infected animals. Further, human-to-human infections occur when someone comes into close contact with an infected person. As such, the health minister is urging persons to take precautionary measures to avoid Monkeypox infections in Guyana. Additionally, the spread of the virus is mainly associated with infected persons traveling from endemic countries to other locations across the world.
With the recent outbreak, Minister Anthony said the virus is not easily contained, as such it continues to spread across countries, and was recently detected in some Caribbean countries. “What is different from past outbreaks is that this one is not easily contained, and so you now have monkey pox cases in probably more than 40 countries right now,” Minister Anthony said.
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