Mexico City.- After the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency due to an outbreak of mpox, known as “monkeypox,” the Ministry of Health (Ssa) issued a notice to reinforce surveillance in the country’s medical units and report probable cases to reduce infections.
The National Committee for Epidemiological Surveillance (Conave), made up of health sector institutions in Mexico, published the epidemiological notice to instruct preventive actions in all health centers in order to break possible chains of contagion and provide sick people with timely medical care.
The epidemiological notice states that the occurrence of mpox outbreaks, mainly in African countries and with a variant different from that of 2022, increases the risk of international spread. In addition to the above, a variant of the so-called clade I is circulating in the African region, which is associated with sustained transmission and cases in a higher age range.
The WHO therefore urged Member States to remain vigilant against the possibility of this variant being introduced into other regions of the world, including the Americas and the Caribbean.
“In order to detect cases in a timely manner and reduce as much as possible the spread of mpox in national territory, the notice issued by Conave emphasizes strict compliance with epidemiological surveillance actions in accordance with regulations and ensuring timely care for those affected,” said the Ssa.
Conave specified that it resumes the operational definitions of probable, confirmed and ruled out cases, based on WHO recommendations; it also indicates the actions that health personnel in medical care units must take when identifying a probable case.
He highlighted that as of August 3, the Epidemiological Surveillance System has identified 212 probable cases during 2024, of which 49 are confirmed and are distributed across 11 federal entities, with the clade II variant being the only one detected in all cases analyzed in Mexico.
“So far, the new clade 1b2 variant has not been identified,” he confirmed.
He reported that Mexico has a Response Plan to address MPOX that includes actions to coordinate the national response; community involvement, empowerment and participation; diagnosis and epidemiological surveillance, comprehensive care and risk communication.
The plan, he said, is updated according to the current requirements of the ESPII and is activated in response to the epidemiological notice, available at https://t.ly/Cx5nA
In case of suspicion and need for connection to medical care units, the agency made available the telephone line 5519469772 or the email [email protected]
What is mpox?
Mpox, also known as “monkeypox,” was first identified by scientists in 1958, when outbreaks of a smallpox-like disease occurred in monkeys.
Until recently, most human cases were seen in people in central and western Africa who had close contact with infected animals.
In 2022, the virus was confirmed to be spread through sexual contact for the first time, triggering outbreaks in more than 70 countries that had previously not reported mpox.
It belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox, but causes milder symptoms such as fever, chills and body aches. People with more severe cases may develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.
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