By Kisean Joseph
The country is being urged to take the threat of mpox seriously as the highly contagious viral disease continues to spread across Africa.
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the current outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
“The WHO’s declaration is a critical warning that we must take very seriously. We need to be ready for the virus’s possible arrival,” local medical doctor Eldean Eudelle told Observer.
“It’s very vital that our healthcare system is prepared to manage any cases that may emerge.”
Dr Eudelle explained that while mpox might not be as well-known as other viral diseases “its transmission potential should not be overlooked”.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, was first identified by scientists in 1958 when they observed a disease with pox-like symptoms in monkeys.
The majority of human cases were previously observed in individuals who had had direct exposure to infected animals.
It was later confirmed that the virus can spread through close contact between humans, such as sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person.
Mpox causes flu-like symptoms, skin lesions and can be fatal in around four in 100 cases.
A new variant is currently spreading quickly across parts of central and east Africa.
The declaration of mpox as a public health emergency is of particular concern to Antigua and Barbuda, especially as LIAT 2020 plans to expand its service to Nigeria by early 2025.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Health, Wellness, Social Transformation, and the Environment along with the Ministry of Tourism, the Airport Authority, the Port Authority, and the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre attended a recent meeting to discuss increasing surveillance at ports of entry.
The latest outbreak is a far more deadly version of the virus which prompted a previous mpox public health emergency declaration in 2022.
The new variant has been described by some scientists as the most dangerous yet.
Since the start of the year, there have been more than 13,700 cases of mpox in the DR Congo, with at least 450 deaths.
The illness has since been detected in around a dozen other African countries.
The announcement of a case in Sweden last week was the first indication that the disease had slipped out of Africa.
