In Colombia, 11 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed, of which 10 originated outside the country. The health authorities assure that the country has the capacity to face the diseasewhich is already present in 74 countries.
(Declare global health emergency due to monkeypox).
Given the increase in cases, the World Health Organization asked countries to increase case tracking, public health prevention measures, strengthen outbreak management in clinics and hospitals, and “accelerate research into vaccines, therapies and other tools”.
At the moment, the WHO assessment is that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally, except in Europe, where it is assessed as high.
Colombia, for its part, is in the “containment phase” of monkeypoxof which 11 cases have been detected in the country since the first was reported on June 23, reported the Ministry of Health.
“Right now we are in a containment phase, which represents a very important opportunity for the country”said the Minister of Health, Fernando Ruiz, through a statement.
And he reiterated that “the plan we have together with the INS has been to try to contain the epidemic as much as we can to prevent its spread throughout the community.”
(What is the containment phase to stop monkeypox).
The director of the National Institute of Health in Colombia (INS), Martha Ospina, recalled that since May 20, actions and guidelines were defined to start monitoring the disease at all levels.
He also explained that, since June 23, when three more cases were detected, the awareness days to address the potential disease, and at the beginning of July the first genomic sequencing of an imported case of this smallpox was carried out.
Despite the fact that the numbers of positive cases in Colombia are not high, the entity assured that before the WHO had declared monkeypox an international health emergency, Colombia already had reinforced epidemiological surveillance of diseases that cause outbreaks.
Regarding the country’s response capacity, Ospina said that Colombia has expanded diagnostic capacity to contain the disease and about 12 to 13 laboratories are prepared to carry out diagnoses if necessary.
For now, two additional questions will be included in Migration Colombia upon the arrival of international travelers to detect possible cases and isolate them in time.
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*With information from EL TIEMPO