The Minister of Health, Michalis Hadjipantela, called for a meeting on Monday to take stock of the latest data, as well as Cyprus’ level of preparedness in dealing with monkeypox.
The World Health Organization declared monkeypox as a global public health emergency on Saturday afternoon. A telephone conversation between Hadjipantela and the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge followed.
According to a Ministry announcement, during the phone call, the two men discussed the data recorded at European level in relation with the disease and it was decided that, within the next few days, further guidelines will be sent regarding the handling and treatment of confirmed cases of monkeypox.
Even though Cyprus is among the countries where no confirmed cases have been recorded so far, the competent services of the Ministry of Health are fully prepared to deal with the disease, the announcement states, since the Ministry of Health has taken all the necessary actions and has drawn up an action plan, which includes all relevant protocols for managing both confirmed cases and their close contacts.
More than 16,000 cases of the disease have been recorded in more than 70 countries, while the cases are mainly found in people with multiple sexual partners. Transmission between individuals occurs either through contact with skin lesions/bodily fluids of the patient, and/or through contaminated objects, and/or through respiratory droplets, following prolonged close contact at a short distance.
Symptoms include fever, headache, myalgias, back pain, lymphadenopathy, chills, and exhaustion, and a characteristic rash usually appears 1 to 5 days after the onset of symptoms.
The microbiological laboratory of the Nicosia General Hospital and the ING laboratory have been designated as reference laboratories, which are able to carry out the necessary diagnostic laboratory tests for the disease. At the same time, Nicosia General Hospital and Archbishop Makarios III Hospital have been designated as reference hospitals for the treatment of suspected and confirmed cases, adults and children, respectively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency