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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Khartoum - Mohammed Amin Yassine

Sudan on High Alert as It Reports First Monkeypox Case

Test tubes labeled "Monkeypox virus positive and negative" are seen in this illustration taken May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

The Sudanese Federal Ministry of Health announced a plan to face the Monkeypox virus after a confirmed infection was recorded in the Darfur region last week.

The Ministry said that 38 suspected cases had been tested negative elsewhere in the country.

On Sunday, Sudan had reported its first confirmed monkeypox case, a 16-year-old student in West Darfur state. Later, it announced an emergency plan to combat monkeypox by implementing public health surveillance to detect cases at an early phase, in addition to tightening monitoring measures at sea, air and land crossings.

The Director of the General Department of Emergency and Epidemics Combat at the federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Montasir Mohamad Osman, told the official Sudan News Agency, SUNA, that the plan also includes setting isolation centers for monkeypox patients, training health personnel to treat those infected, and strengthening the public health laboratory for examination and diagnosis.

In Khartoum, the health department said no monkeypox cases were reported, but it raised the state of maximum alert after the Federal Health Ministry announced that some patients suffered from its symptoms.

Meanwhile, the Ministry said it cancelled all restrictions on entry of nationals and foreigners to Sudan concerning coronavirus pandemic.

The technical committee for responding to the Covid-19 pandemic recommended abolition of all restrictions on entry to Sudan, while maintaining the health requirements at the entry points stipulated by the international regulations, within the framework of following up on the epidemiological situation internally and externally.

Acting Federal Minister of Health Dr. Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim addressed the Civil Aviation Authority and the Foreign Ministry to take the necessary action and circulate the new measures to relevant authorities.

The epidemiological report of Ministry said Sudan registered 38,000 cases of coronavirus, including 3,000 deaths and 32,000 cases of recovered patients.

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