Mozambique: Maputo and Sofala to set up mpox isolation centres

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Mozambique: Maputo and Sofala to set up mpox isolation centres

3:40 CAT | 30 Aug 2024

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: DW]

The Mozambican provinces of Sofala, in central Mozambique, and Maputo, in the south, have announced the creation of isolation centres to contain possible cases of Mpox in the country, which so far remains without positive cases.

“We activated the response plan, and all district headquarters received instructions to have an isolation point for these cases, because there are occasionally suspected cases,” said Assane Abdala, chief doctor in Sofala province, quoted by the media this Thursday.

The Ministry of Health of Mozambique announced on Monday (26-08) that the country still had no positive cases of mpox, after testing seven suspected cases of the disease registered between 14 and 26 August, which returned negative results.

In addition to Sofala, Maputo province has also activated the response plan, including the creation of isolation centres and the reinforcement of border control.

“There is reinforcement of control, especially border control. Then, if health units have a suspected case, we collect the sample and send it to the National Institute of Health,” chief doctor of Maputo province Celestina da Conceição is quoted by the media today as saying.

The Mozambican National Institute of Health (INS) is at maximum laboratory readiness to test suspected cases, and believes it can respond to any demand.

“In terms of testing, we are at maximum laboratory readiness. We can increase our capacity and dynamics if necessary, but the number of suspected cases [is still] low, and it does not seem that this will be of concern in the short term,” national director of the INS Eduardo Samo Gudo has said.

Malawi also free of cases

Malawi had until August 24 also not registered any cases of mpox, according to a statement from the country’s Ministry of Health – which acknowledges, however, that the country is at “great risk”.

“The Ministry of Health continues to remind the public that Malawi is at great risk of contracting the disease, since it is a global threat. The ministry is working in collaboration with the World Health Organization, the Africa CDC [Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention] and all partners to prevent the disease in the country,” the statement from the Malawian authorities reads.

More than 22,800 cases and at least 622 deaths from mpox have been recorded since January in 13 African countries, the African Union last Tuesday (27-08).

This is the second time in two years that mpox has been considered a potential threat to international health, with the first alert being lifted in May, after its spread had been contained and the situation was considered under control.

Source: Deutsche Welle