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MINSK, 28 August (BelTA) – The Minsk City Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology listed safety measures to prevent the spread of mpox, BelTA has learned.
According to the Healthcare Ministry, no cases of mpox have been reported in Belarus to date. However, it is important to know basic safety rules.
Thus, in order to reduce the risk of transmission from person to person, it is necessary to avoid close physical contact with people infected with mpox or people displaying symptoms similar to mpox.
It is essential to maintain good hand hygiene. This includes washing your hands with soap and using alcohol-containing antiseptics.
Travelers visiting endemic countries should avoid contact with animals that may be infected with the mpox virus (rodents, marsupials), and refrain from eating or handling wild game.
Mpox symptoms in humans are similar to those of smallpox.
The incubation period takes usually 6 to 13 days, but can range from 5 to 21 days. Mpox can be divided into two periods. The invasion period (lasts between 0–5 days) is characterized by fever, intense headache, lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph nodes), back pain, myalgia (muscle aches) and intense asthenia (lack of energy). The second period - skin eruption - usually begins within 1–3 days after appearance of fever. The rash tends to be more concentrated on the face and extremities rather than on the trunk.
Mpox cases have been reported in Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of South Africa, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, etc. On 16 August, Sweden confirmed the first case of mpox strain outside Africa.
On 14 August 2024 the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern. This is the second time something like this has happened in the last two years, but today the situation looks more disturbing. History suggests Clade 1 outbreaks are more dangerous than Clade 2. In previous outbreaks up to 10% of people who got sick with Clade 1 mpox died.
According to the Healthcare Ministry, no cases of mpox have been reported in Belarus to date. However, it is important to know basic safety rules.
Thus, in order to reduce the risk of transmission from person to person, it is necessary to avoid close physical contact with people infected with mpox or people displaying symptoms similar to mpox.
It is essential to maintain good hand hygiene. This includes washing your hands with soap and using alcohol-containing antiseptics.
Travelers visiting endemic countries should avoid contact with animals that may be infected with the mpox virus (rodents, marsupials), and refrain from eating or handling wild game.
Mpox symptoms in humans are similar to those of smallpox.
The incubation period takes usually 6 to 13 days, but can range from 5 to 21 days. Mpox can be divided into two periods. The invasion period (lasts between 0–5 days) is characterized by fever, intense headache, lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph nodes), back pain, myalgia (muscle aches) and intense asthenia (lack of energy). The second period - skin eruption - usually begins within 1–3 days after appearance of fever. The rash tends to be more concentrated on the face and extremities rather than on the trunk.
Mpox cases have been reported in Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of South Africa, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, etc. On 16 August, Sweden confirmed the first case of mpox strain outside Africa.
On 14 August 2024 the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern. This is the second time something like this has happened in the last two years, but today the situation looks more disturbing. History suggests Clade 1 outbreaks are more dangerous than Clade 2. In previous outbreaks up to 10% of people who got sick with Clade 1 mpox died.
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