MONKEYPOX EMERGENCY: ESWATINI UPS READINESS

MBABANE – Following the declaration of Mpox as a public emergency, Eswatini has stepped up efforts to strengthen her readiness.

This was revealed by the Minister of Health Mduduzi Matsebula. To strengthen readiness, Matsebula said they had transitioned the Public Health Emergency Operation Centre to 24-hour alert mode and scaled up the training of healthcare workers on Mpox, among other things. Eswatini has not reported any confirmed cases of Mpox. However, 11 suspected cases were reported between June and July, all of which were confirmed negative.

There were eight cases from the Shiselweni Region and three from the Manzini Region.The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mpox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (2005). It came after the recent upsurge in Mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and several other African countries. Serious concerns have been raised about the rapid spread of a new strain of Mpox, clade 1b, particularly through sexual networks and its recent detection in countries neighbouring the DRC, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

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