CAIRO, Aug 17 (MENA) – There are no cases of monkey pox, Mpox, detected in Egypt according to surveillance reports by the Preventive Medicine Department of the Ministry of Health and Population, said advisor to the President of the Republic for Health and Prevention Affairs Mohamed Awad Tageddin.

In statements to the Middle East News Agency (MENA) Saturday, Tageddin added that the medical and scientific authorities in Egypt have taken preventive measures, especially for those coming from countries where there are Mpox outbreaks.

Tageddin noted the increase in the number of cases of Mpox during the current period in some African countries, especially the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the disease has spread to 23 provinces.

Mpox can be controlled through vaccines, he said, noting the need to provide the necessary vaccination doses to all infected African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

He also pointed out that a case of monkey pox was detected in Sweden and some cases have been detected in Southeast Asia, which indicate that the disease is spreading outside the African continent.

Mpox is transmitted through touch, sexual contact, and other methods such as sharing towels and bed sheets, he said, noting that the symptoms of this viral disease include high temperature, headache, painful rash, body and back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been reports of monkeypox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for more than ten years and there has been a steady increase in the number of cases reported annually over that period.

Last year witnessed a significant rise in cases, but the number of cases registered this year has caused wide-spread alarm after they exceeded 15,600, with 537 deaths from the disease being reported.

WHO indicated in its latest reports that monkeypox symptoms last between 14 and 21 days, and the incubation period ranges between 6 and 16 days. (MENA)
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