Over 260 health practitioners trained to treat mpox as Guyana remains alert

Amid the global outbreak of monkeypox – an infectious disease that can make persons very sick and even lead to death – local authorities have ramped up efforts to ensure it does not reach Guyana’s shores.
To date, there are no known cases of mpox in Guyana.
Nevertheless, Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony told reporters today that already, authorities have ensured the training of some 270 health practitioners to diagnose, treat and reduce the spread of monkeypox (mpox).
Considering the speed in which the virus is spreading, Dr. Anthony explained that more health workers will be exposed to the training in the event of an outbreak locally.
He added that those who have benefited from training are now responsible for enforcing Guyana’s mpox guidelines and by extension, ensuring their colleagues do the same.
“We have also published guidelines for our physicians in terms of how you diagnose mpox, what you should look for, the signs and symptoms, and so forth. So, we have very comprehensive guidelines, and that has been issued, and we have circulated it to all our physicians. Last weekend, we also did a training for doctors across Guyana. We had more than 270 doctors who were on the training, so I think it has helped to give them a refresher in terms of mpox and the differential diagnosis that they have to make with other similar skin lesions. So, I think we are quite prepared,” Dr. Anthony disclosed.
With monkeypox being declared a public health emergency, Guyana’s health authorities have activated screening at all ports of entry and implemented safety guidelines at healthcare facilities across the country.
Anthony explained that health officials at port offices have the capabilities to respond in the event that a person enters the country with monkeypox symptoms.
Further, he added that vaccines for mpox are also available for persons at risk.
“In addition to that, the team, the national team, they meet on a regular basis to assess what is going on internationally, what threat these cases pose, and to even make sure that we are in a state of readiness. We have also bought vaccines, and we have in stock vaccines against mpox. And we have issued a set of criteria that can be used for persons who would be more at risk, and for those persons, we will be able to administer the vaccine if they would like to have that,” he added.
On August 7th, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that due to the growing number of monkeypox cases in Africa, the virus is now a global health emergency, warning that it might ultimately spill across international borders.
The announcement by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus came after a meeting of the United Nations (UN) health agency’s emergency committee.
Guyana’s health authorities are imploring that citizens take the necessary precautions to protect themselves from contracting the virus, especially since a severe case has already been detected in neighbouring Venezuela.

Signs and symptoms
Monkeypox causes pus-filled blisters that crust over and fall off. After exposure to this disease, the period of time before symptoms develop could last from several days to a few weeks. Early signs of monkeypox include flu-like symptoms like fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. After a few days, a rash usually develops. That rash starts as flat, red bumps which can be painful.
Those bumps turn into blisters, which become filled with pus. Eventually, the blisters crust over and fall off. The whole process can last from two to four weeks.
An infected person can also get sores in their mouth, vagina, or anus.

Spread, treatment
Monkeypox is spread by a person coming into contact with an animal or person who is infected with the virus. Animal-to-person transmission occurs through broken skin, like from bites or scratches, or through direct contact with an infected animal’s blood, bodily fluids, or pox lesions (sores).
Monkeypox can be spread from person to person, but it’s less common. Person-to-person spread (transmission) occurs when persons come in contact with the sores, scabs, respiratory droplets, or oral fluids of an infected person; usually through close, intimate situations like cuddling, kissing, or sex.
Healthcare providers may first suspect other rash illnesses, such as measles or chickenpox. But swollen lymph nodes usually distinguish monkeypox from other poxes.
To diagnose monkeypox, a healthcare provider takes a tissue sample from an open sore (lesion). Then they send it to a lab for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing (genetic fingerprinting). A blood sample can be taken for the monkeypox virus or antibodies the immune system makes to combat it.
Monkeypox can be confirmed in Guyana with the identification of MPXV via RT-PCR analysis conducted at the National Public Health Reference Laboratory (NPHRL) in Georgetown.
The virus is usually a self-limiting disease, with symptoms lasting from two to four weeks.
The incubation period of monkeypox virus infection is usually from 5 to 13 days but can range from 4 to 21 days. During the outbreak that began in 2022, the incubation period has generally ranged from 7 to 10 days following exposure. (G1)