Although Guyana has not recorded any case of monkeypox, the Ministry of Health is currently trying to procure vaccines for the disease through the Pan American Health Organi-zation (PAHO).
“We are working to acquire the vaccine that is being produced… in Denmark but we’re working through PAHO. PAHO has been talking to the manufacturer and they’re trying to secure doses for the Americas, and out of the allocation that they’re trying to secure, we would benefit from some of that allocation,” Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony disclosed in his COVID-19 update yesterday.
However, since there are a limited amount of vaccines around the world, when secured, it will only be administered to persons who have been exposed to others persons with monkeypox.
Further, with many cases being confirmed in nearby countries, a technical team has since been put in place so that they can monitor the situation in the country, and act with immediate effect if a case is to be recorded.
“We have a technical team, just in case if there is a suspected case that is reported to us. We have put together a technical incident team that can respond to confirm whether this is a case or not. That incident team is made up of infectious disease specialist, dermatologist, public health officials and laboratory officials.”
Moreover, as part of the ministry’s initiative to bring awareness to the disease, a series of workshops have been planned, and the first one is scheduled to be held on Monday. The workshops are for persons who they think are at higher risk for the disease, such as gay men.
According to the World Health Organisation, monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe. Monkeypox primarily occurs in central and west Africa, often in proximity to tropical rainforests, and has been increasingly appearing in urban areas.
