Management officials of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) are awaiting directives from the Health Ministry to implement Monkeypox guidelines, following the recent declaration of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO announced last Wednesday that, due to the growing number of monkeypox cases in Africa, the virus is now a global health emergency, and a warning has been issued that the disease might ultimately spill across international borders.
This announcement, made by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, came after a meeting of the United Nations health agency’s emergency committee.
WHO has said there have been more than 14,000 cases of this disease, and 524 deaths have occurred in Africa this year, thus last year’s figures have already been exceeded.
Guyana’s health authorities are yet to disclosed plans or national safety protocols for monkeypox; thus, airlines and other border points of entry are currently not taking precautions.
In a comment invited by this publication, a senior official of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) has said, “we have not been invited to (any) meeting, but anything that is being done we will get it via Ministry of Health, and (we will) follow such instructions.”
Efforts to contact officials of the Ministry of Health on this issue have proven futile.
Guyana recorded its first monkeypox case in August 2022, and this number has gradually increased in 2023 with over 15 persons being infected to date.
Signs and symptoms
Monkeypox causes pus-filled blisters that crust over and fall off. After exposure to this disease, the period of time before symptoms develop could last from several days to a few weeks. Early signs of monkeypox include flu-like symptoms like fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. After a few days, a rash usually develops. That rash starts as flat, red bumps which can be painful.
Those bumps turn into blisters, which become filled with pus. Eventually, the blisters crust over and fall off. The whole process can last from two to four weeks.
An infected person can also get sores in their mouth, vagina, or anus.
Spread
Monkeypox is spread by a person coming into contact with an animal or person who is infected with the virus. Animal-to-person transmission occurs through broken skin, like from bites or scratches, or through direct contact with an infected animal’s blood, bodily fluids, or pox lesions (sores).
Monkeypox can be spread from person to person, but it’s less common. Person-to-person spread (transmission) occurs when persons come in contact with the sores, scabs, respiratory droplets, or oral fluids of an infected person; usually through close, intimate situations like cuddling, kissing, or sex.
Diagnosis and tests
Healthcare providers may first suspect other rash illnesses, such as measles or chickenpox. But swollen lymph nodes usually distinguish monkeypox from other poxes.
To diagnose monkeypox, a healthcare provider takes a tissue sample from an open sore (lesion). Then they send it to a lab for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing (genetic fingerprinting). A blood sample can be taken for the monkeypox virus or antibodies the immune system makes to combat it.
Management and treatment
Monkeypox is usually a self-limiting disease, with symptoms lasting from two to four weeks. Most people with monkeypox get better on their own, without resorting to treatment. Following diagnosis, a healthcare provider would monitor a person’s condition and try to relieve their symptoms, prevent dehydration, and give them antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections if those develop.
There’s currently not an approved antiviral treatment for monkeypox; however, if a person has been exposed to monkeypox, health care providers would monitor that person until the rash is resolved.
Prevention
A smallpox vaccine protects a person against monkeypox, but its use is currently limited to clinical trials. Prevention depends on decreasing human contact with infected animals and limiting person-to-person spread. The best way to help prevent spread of the monkeypox virus is to avoid contact with infected animals; thoroughly cook all foods that contain animal meat or parts; wash your hands frequently with soap and water; practise safe sex, including employing the use of condoms and dental dams; and wear a mask that covers your mouth and nose when around others.
