Visitors from countries that have reported cases of monkeypox will be giving their details to the subdivisional operation teams that will maintain a degree of oversight over them for 21 days.

Permanent Secretary for Health Dr James Fong said a team is identifying countries where cases of monkeypox have been reported in and where it is endemic.

Dr Fong said the health ministry is working together with its stakeholders to put together some protocols that will focus on the prevention and control of the virus.

“The problem that I see is only that it is a rare disease, there may be an evolution in the knowledge about the virus that we have not yet captured within our knowledge hubs,” he said.

“So, we are looking out for any new characteristics that become known and that could afford us an implementable action.

“The groups have come up with protocols that will support border control to some extent.  A lot of the work will relate around identifying countries where the disease is endemic.

“Also, we will need to identify countries where they have community spread of the disease and ensuring that travelers who come from there will be recorded.

“We have subdivisional operation teams that will be given names, addresses and contact details to maintain a degree of oversight over them for 21 days,” he said.

In an interview after launching the invention prevention and control guideline, he said there are symptoms and signs that afford the health ministry an ability to provide an oversight.

“The good thing about monkey pox though is that what we know about it is that he generally causes a fairly mild disease,” he said.

“The initial part is a febrile illness just like any just like coronavirus and then somewhere along the way and then you'll start to get skin lesions.

 “I think the most transmissible period will be probably during the acute phase. It can be spread when the patient has a coup and have lesions in their mouth,” he said.

He said quite a lot of transmission of the virus is through direct contact, which requires the surface cleaning and keeping a distance.

By Nacanieli Tuilevuka