Health Ministry says Ethiopia implementing measures to prevent Mpox 

Addis Ababa, August 22, 2024 (FBC) – Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health (MoH) today asserted that it is implementing strict measures in preventing the Monkeypox disease in the country.

On August 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified Mpox virus as a public health emergency of international concern for it is surging across several African countries.

In her media briefing today, Ethiopia’s Minister of Health Mekdes Daba revealed that there has been no case of monkeypox in Ethiopia so far.

However, she stated that since monkeypox has been declared a public health threat by WHO, preventive measures are being implemented to prevent the disease from entering Ethiopia.

These measures include enhancing surveillance at borders and selected areas, increasing laboratory capacity for diagnosing the disease, and strengthening the expertise of health professionals.

Director General of Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Messay Hailu, for his part added that efforts to prevent the disease from entering Ethiopia will continue.

The information obtained from the Ministry of Health indicates that monkeypox has occurred in 13 African countries.

Monkeypoxis a disease caused by the monkeypox virus that can spread from person to person, usually through intimate contact, and sometimes from the environment to people through objects or surfaces that a person infected with mpox has touched.