Samuel Kadungure
News Editor
HEALTH authorities in Manicaland are ready to tackle an mpox (formerly monkey pox) outbreak, taking advantage of their alert health teams that are armed with relevant disease control expertise, skills and experience gained from previous successful responses to prevent the spread of epidemics.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a high alert for a new variant of mpox virus in Africa, following the spread of the disease in several countries — posing a potential health threat that may lead to severe cases, especially in children.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the most affected country, with WHO statistics showing that more than 14 000 cases and 524 deaths have been reported in the country so far this year.
Closer home, the first case of mpox was confirmed in Mozambique this week at a time the sister republic, which shares the border with Manicaland, is reportedly battling with an outbreak of highly contagious measles.
UNICEF reported that more than 200 confirmed cases were detected in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa.
Against that background, Manicaland Provincial Medical Director (PMD), Dr Munyaradzi Mukuzunga on Wednesday said despite Manicaland being safe, they have created an enabling environment to carry out disease surveillance activities such as contact tracing and isolation of suspected cases.
Dr Mukuzunga said an efficient disease surveillance is needed to contain any epidemic, as calls continue being made against allowing complacency to creep in among citizens to keep the disease at bay.
Dr Mukuzunga said they are waiting for a directive from their superiors to deploy manpower at Forbes Border Post, which is the entry and exit point to the Beira Corridor in Mozambique.
“We are waiting for guidance from the national office on when we can deploy at Forbes Border Post, but already our staff on the ground is aware of mpox, and they know what to do. Our health teams in the province have gained adequate experience in dealing with different and various outbreaks, the most recent and challenging one being Covid-19. At the moment, there are no suspected cases in the province, and we call upon members of the public to guard against complacency to keep the disease at bay.
“As was the case with Covid-19, communities should observe health protocols prescribed by WHO, and should there be any suspected case, they should inform their local health facilities so that any such cases are isolated. Our isolation centre — Mutare Infectious Disease Hospital — recently had a facelift and is ready,” he said.
Dr Mukuzunga said previous successes were achieved through enhanced surveillance, rapid laboratory confirmation of cases, contact tracing, isolation of cases, as well as awareness campaigns on avoiding contacts with cases, while infection protection and control measures were taken.
“The staff is aware of how to prevent mpox. They know what to do, and will employ the same tactics as we did with Covid-19. The surveillance system is up and running, and the health teams are adequately sensitised. Our teams at clinics are adequately engaged, making the Mpox an integral part of the existing health infrastructure when engaging communities,” he said, allaying any fears that the porous border with Mozambique may compromise the effectiveness of their health delivery system in the event of an outbreak.
“Just consider the border as any other route in a village where one can move from point A to B by any means and route. There is no specific route that one can take from Dangamvura to Chikanga, for example. We have an effective surveillance community structure that works in conjunction with local health facilities to raise red flags, and alert them if there is something unusual or suspicious,” he said.
Mpox is a rare disease similar to smallpox caused by a virus, and found mostly in Africa, causing flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, rash that can take weeks to clear, swollen lymph nodes, chills, headache, muscle aches and fatigue.
The rash starts as flat, red bumps, which can be painful and can turn into blisters, which fill with pus.
The sores can develop on the mouth, face, hands and feet, among other body parts.
Beyond direct effects of the disease, concerns remain over the secondary impact of Mpox outbreaks on children and adolescents, including stigma, discrimination and disruptions to schooling and learning.
For women and girls, the risk of gender-based violence remains high as their burden of care includes caring for sick family members and supporting the basic needs for their families’ survival, as seen in previous public health emergencies.
The disease can spread in humans through close contact, often skin-to-skin contact with an infected person or animal or with material contaminated with the virus such as clothing, bedding, towels and hard surfaces.
Communities observe protocols such as isolation of infected people, avoiding physical contact, thorough handwashing with soap under running water, wearing surgical masks, disinfecting laundry, dishes and all contaminated surfaces with hot water and detergent while disinfecting and hand hygiene using alcohol-based sanitisers should be emphasised.
