Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Health (MoH) has requested increased monitoring to detect suspected monkeypox cases at border gates and proactive surveillance in healthcare facilities after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) amid the potential risk of disease spread.
The MoH announced on August 19 that since the beginning of 2024, particularly in the last two months, the WHO has recorded an unusually high increase in the number of monkeypox (mpox) cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The African country has to date reported about 15,600 cases, with over 537 deaths. The mpox virus Clade Ib is currently the dominant strain in this outbreak in the country.
Additionally, four countries bordering Congo, namely Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, have reported the first cases of mpox with epidemiological links to the ongoing outbreak in Congo. Sweden and Pakistan – the two countries outside Africa, have also recorded cases of the Clade Ib mpox strain.
The MoH sent a document to the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, the hygiene and epidemiology institutes, Pasteur institutes, and central hospitals treating infectious diseases, urging them to strengthen measures for preventing and controlling monkeypox, towards proactively monitoring and early detecting cases of the disease, preventing widespread transmission and minimising the number of cases and deaths.
It also asked for strict inspection and control at border gates to early detect suspected cases, and proactive surveillance at medical facilities.
Localities have been requested to organise training sessions for healthcare workers at all levels on monitoring, preventive measures, care, treatment, and infection prevention for mpox.
The ministry also underlined the need to review and update prevention and response plans and scenarios to be ready for any outbreak; prepare medicine, medical supplies, equipment, personnel, and funding for receiving, treating, and controlling outbreaks; and step up the communication work to disseminate monkeypox prevention and control measures in line with the ministry's recommendations./.
