It is noted that on European soil the first case was detected yesterday in Sweden, with the WHO declaring a state of emergency for monkey pox.
Cyprus is fully prepared to deal with a positive case of the monkeypox virus, the Director of Medical Services and Public Health Services, Dr. Elisavet Constantinou, who assured that there is enough vaccines in the adult vaccination centers, so that anyone who wishes can be vaccinated.
Speaking at KYPE, on the occasion of the worldwide alarm, as monkey pox now also exists outside of Africa, with the first cases having been identified in Europe and Asia, Ms. Constantinou stated that there is no cause for concern, since He noted that since 2022, when the World Health Organization had again declared the same virus as a public health event of international concern, Cyprus has treated five cases since then until today.
According to Dr. Constantinou, incident management protocols already exist and are being implemented, while he noted that Cyprus is able to laboratory diagnose, isolate, treat and manage such an incident.
Communication with Personal Doctors or TAEP in case of illness
He added that if someone has the symptoms and believes he has contracted the disease he should either contact the staff the doctor, or with the Emergency Departments of the State Health Services Organization (OKYPY).
In addition, he mentioned that Nicosia General Hospital for adults and Makarios Hospital for children have been designated as Reference Centers, to note that the protocols followed have been put into effect since 2022.
When asked where cases are treated if and when necessary, Dr. Constantinou said that if any incident needs to be hospitalized, this will be done at the Infectious Diseases Clinic of the Nicosia General Hospital.
However, she said that several of the cases have a mild to moderate picture and home isolation is usually recommended.
When asked when someone should proceed with vaccination, the Director of Medical Services said that the Ministry of Health recommends to vaccinate people who are going to travel to the areas where the virus is endemic, i.e. the areas of Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, etc.
Vaccination is also recommended for people, who are health professionals and treat such cases or people who are involved in the hospitalization and care of such cases or close contacts of cases, that is, either the partners of volumes affected by the virus, or people who live in the same house.
Furthermore, he emphasized that it is recommended that immunosuppressed people also receive the vaccine, but anyone else who wishes can be vaccinated.
Symptoms
Monkeypox, also known as Monkeypox, is caused by a virus in the same family as pox, but is usually much less harmful.
It was originally transmitted from animals to humans, but is now also transmitted between humans. .
Initial symptoms include fever, headaches, swelling, back pain and muscle pain. Once the fever subsides, a rash may appear.
Infection lasts from 14 to 21 days.
WHO and ECDC are studying Clade 1 very carefully
In response to a related question, Dr. Constantinou said that the reason there is concern from the WHO is the rapid increase in the number of cases in African countries, which has been observed both in cases and in deaths.
He explained that the increase according to laboratory findings it is due to a variant of the virus, which is called Clade 1, to add that this variant is estimated to be somewhat more contagious than the previous strain that existed.
As both the WHO and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) added, they are at the stage where they are studying very carefully and collecting data on the behavior of the virus.
The risk of disease is low for those who will not travel
It is noted that the first case on European soil was detected yesterday in Sweden, with the WHO declaring a state of emergency for monkey pox.
However, yesterday evening ECDC Europe issued a risk assessment and has stated that citizens of European countries, who do not intend to travel to these countries, have a “very low risk” of becoming ill.
< b>The wave of Covid 19 infections is receding
Furthermore, when asked about the number of Covid 19 cases, Mrs. Constantinou said that there was a “significant decrease” compared to the previous week .
As she said, a reduction is observed both in the number of positive cases and in hospitalizations.
“It seems that we are in the phase of the retreat of the small wave”, concluded Mrs. Constantinou .
