In Poland, we have a system of care for patients with mpox, but we are modifying it because we know that this virus is more contagious – explained on Monday the Chief Sanitary Inspector Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski. He argued that a group of experts is working on it, and updated rules will appear “in the coming days”. Meanwhile, on Monday, the WHO launched a six-month program to combat the mpox epidemic.
Chief Sanitary Inspector Dr Paweł Grzesiowski announced on Monday at a press conference in Białystok that work is underway on guidelines for the procedure in the event of infection with the mpox virus (formerly monkeypox).
– We are working on these guidelines. This is a very new matter – he informed. He reminded that in Poland we already have procedures that were developed two years ago. – It is not that in Poland there is currently no system of care for patients with mpox. We have this system. We are modifying it because we know that this virus is more contagious and can cause more severe illnesses in Africa. That is all we know for now – he said.
Updated guidelines “in the coming days”
He pointed out that this is why existing procedures are being updated by experts based on the latest guidelines from the World Health Organization. “It's not like we have to create something from scratch,” he emphasized.
– All of this is there, so there is no need to react so nervously and act suddenly. A group of experts is working on updating these guidelines. I think they will be published in the next few days – informed Grzesiowski.
Dr. Grzesiowski on centers testing mpox strains, vaccines and guidelinesTVN24
He pointed out that under these regulations the disease is notified in Poland, isolation of the patient is mandatory – for up to two weeks – and with the doctor's consent, it can take place at home.
Mandatory quarantine lasting up to three weeks or the possibility of isolating patients in infectious disease wards is also planned. He also informed that there is a vaccine against mpox for about 5 thousand people and two centers (in Warsaw and Gdańsk) designated for testing samples and strains of the virus.
– We have regulations, we have documentation in this matter that makes it clear that a person with mpox is subject to very specific procedures – assured Paweł Grzesiowski.
Mpox (formerly monkeypox). Timeline: outbreaks, control, and vaccinations Reuters
WHO's Half-Year Program: “Outbreaks Can Be Controlled”
Whereas World Health Organization (WHO) launched a six-month program on Monday to combat the mpox epidemic.
The program involves increasing the number of workers in the affected countries, strengthening surveillance strategies, prevention and response to the epidemic. According to the WHO, these activities will cost $135 million from September to February next year.
The plans include facilitating access to vaccines, especially in African countries, which are suffering the most from mpox. – The mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries can be controlled and contained – said the head of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Government spokesman German Steffen Hebestreit announced on Monday that his country will donate 100,000 doses of mpox vaccines from the German military's stockpiles to affected countries.
What is mpox (formerly monkeypox)?
Mpox is an infectious disease caused by a virus that can spread from animals to humans, but also from person to person. The virus is spread through close contact, including skin-to-skin contact, talking, or breathing close to an infected person. The virus can enter the body through broken skin or the respiratory tract. Infection can also occur through touching objects contaminated with the virus, such as bedding, clothing, and towels.
Mpox is characterized by flu-like symptoms, including fever, headache, and muscle pain. It also causes pus-filled, pimple-like skin lesions, making it difficult to distinguish from chickenpox. It is usually mild and only rarely fatal.
The WHO announced in mid-August that it was declaring a “public health emergency of international concern” due to the outbreak of mpox.
Since the beginning of the year to August 23, more than 21,300 confirmed and suspected infections and 590 deaths from mpox have been recorded in 12 African countries, according to the latest report by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency of the African Union.
On August 20, authorities in Congo, the worst-hit country, reported more than a thousand new infections detected in a week. Two days later Thailand has confirmed its first case on its territory a new, more dangerous and probably more contagious type of the mpox virus (type II, sometimes also called 1b). This is the first infection with the new strain confirmed in Asia and at the same time the second detected outside Africa – after August 15 Sweden has reported the detection of infection on its territory..
Main image source: Marina Demidiuk/Shutterstock