Guyanese authorities, surveillance units on alert for monkeypox – Health Minister

A worldwide outbreak of monkeypox, including in non-endemic countries, has put local authorities on alert.
Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony on Friday disclosed that while cases of monkeypox are not new, Guyana has activated its surveillance unit.
“Monkeypox is not anything new. There have been cases. Last year, there were countries reporting monkeypox…Because we have more vigilant surveillance systems, we’re able to detect these things much earlier. Similarly, here, when we saw that countries were reporting, we have also put our surveillance team on alert,” Dr Anthony disclosed.
Doctors have been briefed via a memo on the clinical symptoms associated with monkeypox, should they detect any cases.
“Monkeypox has a lot of similarities to chickenpox and therefore, one would have to make sure that we do proper differentiation. We are checking. Generally, these viruses are more endemic to the African region and you would, from time to time, see cases popping up in other parts of the world. They’re generally transmitted by primates or monkeys but they can also be transmitted by rodents.”
The acute skin rash may be present with maculopapular (flat-based lesions) to vesicles (fluid-filled blisters), pustules, and subsequent crusting affecting the face, palms of the hand, soles of the feet and the rest of the body.
According to the notice, same may be accompanied with headache, acute onset of fever, myalgia, back pain, asthenia and lymphadenopathy.
Within one to three days, rashes would appear on the face, hands, soles and throughout the body. The disease would resolve itself between 14 to 21 days.
“There are vaccines that some countries have, that can work to limit the spread of monkeypox and because it has been so similar to smallpox, countries who have smallpox vaccines in reserve can use these to immunise their population. We don’t have those but we’re on the lookout,” the Minister shared.
The World Health Organisation has said it is working with its partners to better understand the extent and cause of an outbreak of monkeypox. The virus is endemic in some animal populations in a number of countries, leading to occasional outbreaks among local people and travellers.
“WHO is working with the affected countries and others to expand disease surveillance to find and support people who may be affected, and to provide guidance on how to manage the disease. We continue to convene meetings of experts and technical advisory groups (such as the meeting today of the Strategic & Technical Advisory Group on Infectious Hazards with Pandemic and Epidemic Potential [STAG-IH]) to share information on the disease and response strategies,” said the WHO.
Monkeypox spreads differently from COVID-19. WHO encourages people to stay informed from reliable sources, such as national health authorities, on the extent of the outbreak in their community (if any), symptoms, and prevention.
As it spreads through close contact, the response should focus on the people affected and their close contacts. People who closely interact with someone who is infectious are at greater risk for infection: this includes health workers, household members and sexual partners.
Cases have been reported in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Canada, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Sweden, and Australia among others.