Honduras Takes A Step Forward To Eliminate Monkeypox

The government has begun the process of proper PCR tests.

The Pan American Health Organization's Carissa Etienne said that the risk of a major epidemic in North America is low, although there will undoubtedly be more monkeypox cases in the days ahead.

"We should be able to contain this outbreak based on what we know about the virus and its spread," the doctor said during a press conference for the CDC in Washington.

Honduras is on high alert after the Costa Rican health authorities confirmed the first suspected case of this disease in a young Norwegian traveler who arrived on May 22 with six other people from Norway.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic viral illness that is prevalent in parts of central and western Africa. For PAHO, the fact that monkeypox has shown up in the United States, where it isn't endemic, constitutes "unusual" news.

To know

Transmission of the illness may happen via direct contact with bodily fluids. Cases have already been identified in 23 countries. The distance between Honduras and Costa Rica is 663 kilometers, which makes this the closest suspected monkeypox case to Honduran territory. Given the possibility that a case of monkeypox could be imported into Honduras, border surveillance at air, land,

The regulations, which have already been given to all health centers and hospitals throughout the country, were published on May 26.

"We can discover any case that comes our way," stated Secretary of Health José Manuel Matheu. He went on to say that the case must be identified and the person isolated so that he does not spread the illness.

“It's obvious that we will have a case with air travel and everything that goes with it,” he said.

There is currently no vaccine available against variola, so it is highly contagious and can spread rapidly. Matheu stated that the PCR tests and reagents are accessible and that they are ready.