Egypt completely free of monkeypox, monitors global epidemiological situation: Health Ministry

CAIRO – 23 June 2022: The Ministry of Health and Population confirmed that Egypt is completely free of monkeypox, and no cases of infection or suspected infection with the disease have been recorded.

A guide has been issued to deal with cases, as well as methods of treatment and how to diagnose the disease, said the ministry.

Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Population, said that Egypt, with all its preventive agencies, is following up on the global epidemiological situation regarding monkeypox infections.

“Egypt so far, and the epidemiological situation is being monitored,” he added, noting that the ministry has taken all preparations for the prevention of the disease.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Population explained that the ministry is raising awareness of transmission methods, and the procedures to be implemented to avoid infection.

The ministry has also provided 800 DNA detectors and is working to provide an additional 550 detectors during this month, he said.

The spokesperson further indicated that the General Authority for Veterinary Services has been addressed to activate veterinary quarantine procedures with regard to animals coming from abroad, and to activate surveillance in animals, and health staff are trained regarding early diagnosis and treatment methods.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Health warned against dismantling the precautionary and preventive measures to prevent epidemic diseases such as corona and monkeypox, adding that for pilgrims, they must take into account all means of prevention to prevent any infection, and demanded them to follow up continuously with the examination outlets of the medical missions.

He also stressed that all clinics are equipped to deal with cases and dispense medicines and transfer patients to hospitals quickly.

He explained that monkeypox is a zoonotic viral disease that mainly occurs in forest areas in central and western Africa. Symptoms of this disease appear with fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes, and may lead to a range of medical complications.

He stressed that the transmission of smallpox from person to person is not easy, but it may be transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal or materials contaminated with the virus.

Monkeypox is less contagious than smallpox and causes less serious diseases. Its symptoms persist from 2 to 4 weeks, explaining at the same time that the monkeypox virus is not similar to the “Corona” virus in transmitting quickly in the air, and that the infection rates in “monkeypox” are low, pointing out that there is no chance for the monkeypox virus to mutate.

According to preventive medicine reports at the Ministry of Health and Population, smallpox is a serious disease and was threatening a third of the world, but science reached a vaccine that eliminated the disease in 1980. As for monkeypox, it is one of the smallpox species, noting that the smallpox vaccine is 85 percent effective in preventing monkeypox.