Health Protection Agency HPA says the Maldives is preparing for the outbreak of mpox disease after the World Health Body WHO issued a declaration about its outbreak in Africa.
This comes after WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus determined that the upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR).
Dr Tedros’s declaration came on the advice of an IHR Emergency Committee of independent experts who met earlier in the day to review data presented by experts from WHO and affected countries.
The Committee informed the Director-General that it considers the upsurge of mpox to be a PHEIC, with the potential to spread further across African countries and possibly outside the continent.
HPA said in a statement today that the Maldives was taking all necessary precautionary and preparatory measures for the outbreak.
It said that HPA is identifying the likelihood of the outbreak, controlling the spread of the disease, and making preparations to test and treat the disease.
The HPA is also working to familiarize health workers with the disease and strengthen surveillance.
Mpox has been reported in the DRC for more than a decade, and the number of cases reported each year has increased steadily over that period. Last year, reported cases increased significantly, and already the number of cases reported so far this year has exceeded last year’s total, with more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths.
This is all a farce. No time / resources to investigate the hundreds of deaths of Maldivians following Covid vaccination. But got time to fear monger about money pox.