Malawi geared up to fight monkeypox virus

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the monkeypox outbreak a world public health emergency.

The label “public health emergency of international concern” – is designed to sound an alarm that a coordinated international response is needed and could unlock funding and global efforts to collaborate on sharing vaccines and treatments.

In an unusual move, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the declaration even though a committee of experts he had convened to study the issue did not advise him to do so, having failed to reach a consensus.

The same committee met just about a month ago and declined to declare a public health emergency of international concern.

Monkeypox is a virus transmitted to humans from animals. Its symptoms include fever and general flu-like symptoms, followed by the eruption of a blister-like rash on the skin.

It can spread when someone is in close contact with an infected person. The virus can enter the body through broken skin, the respiratory tract or through the eyes, nose or mouth.

For countries that have not detected any case of the virus in the last 21 days such as Malawi, the WHO recommends that they activate or establish health and multi-sectoral coordination mechanisms to strengthen all aspects all aspects of readiness for responding to monkeypox and stop human to human transmission.

The WHO also recommends that such countries establish and intensify epidemiological disease surveillance, including access to reliable, affordable and accurate diagnostic tests for illness compatible with monkeypox.

In addition, the World Health Organisation suggests that countries establish health and multi-sectoral coordination mechanisms to strengthen all aspects of readiness for responding to monkeypox and stop human to human transmission.

Monkeypox cases have so far been recorded in parts of Central and West Africa for decades, but it was not known to spark large outbreaks beyond the continent or to spread widely among people until May, when authorities detected dozens of epidemics in Europe, North America and elsewhere.

Now in over 75 countries, over 16,000 cases have been recorded worldwide. With the constant travel between Malawi and South Africa where several cases have been confirmed, it is therefore necessary for health authorities to fully implement guidelines set out by the WHO as a way of ensuring that the disease does not spread to the country.

Giving a breakdown of the measures that they plan to implement in accordance to the WHO’s suggestsions, spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe explains that among other measures, they are planning to recruit more health personnel in order to ensure that testing and screening for the diseases is successful especially in the country’s borer posts.

In addition to that he further explains that the country will not have trouble identifying the disease as the method used to test Covid-19 is also used to test for monkeypox.

And also commenting on the same is President of the Society of Medical Doctors Victor Mithi, he suggests strengthen available resources to ensure that the country prevent a repetition of a health crisis similar to that of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With that in mind, how can Malawians on their own do their part in protecting themselves and those around them?

Chikumbe suggests imparting the citizenry with knowledge on how best they can protect themselves and changing their mindsets on beliefs that diseases such as these cannot spread in the country.

With the country now on a route to recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and a localised cholera outbreak, it is up to each and every Malawian to be vigilant to prevent the introduction of another disease.

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