Antigua and Barbuda increasing surveillance for monkeypox

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Chief Medical Officer Dr Rhonda Sealey Thomas

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has stepped up its surveillance for signs of monkeypox in light of detected cases in Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, told state television that this could change, as with the movement of people, it may only be a matter of time be- fore monkeypox is detected in the region and the country.

The symptoms of monkeypox, a virus transmitted to humans from animals, are similar to those seen in patients infected with small- pox, although it is generally less severe, according to the World Health Organization.

As such, the CMO has informed physicians throughout the country to be on high alert.

These include a high fe- ver and signature fluid filled papules or “pox”.

“They have to be on the lookout for persons present- ing with fever and the a typical rash, and they should report this to the Ministry of Health Epidemiology Unit or to me as Chief Medical Officer, so that we can detect any case of Monkey-

sion, so that we don’t have more than expected cases in Antigua and Barbuda,” the CMO remarked.

To date, there have been no cases of the virus report- ed in the Caribbean.

Antigua and Barbuda’s

Dr. Sealey-Thomas said one detected case will be considered an outbreak, and the health ministry is seeking to prevent this at all costs.

“I am urging physicians to be vigilant and report, and for persons as well, if you develop a fever and an atypical rash, pustules, vesicles, please seek medical attention as soon as possible, especially if you have a travel history, that can raise a red flag as well.”

According to the WHO, “Monkeypox virus is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding. The incubation period of monkeypox is usually from 6 to 13 days, but can range from 5 to 21 days.” SOURCE: POINTE XPRESS

 

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8 COMMENTS

  1. Isn’t it about time that the Chief Medical Officer Dr Rhonda Sealey-Thomas kept quiet and stay hiding under or behind her bushel?

    This woman was at the forefront of Antigua’s trial vaccination programme and uppermost in the involvement of over 61,000 islanders being injected with this seriously flawed – so-called – vaccine.

    THE LESS WE SEE OR HEAR FROM HER – SELECTIVE INFORMATION – THE BETTER FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL ANTIGUANS!!!

    • … and also remember, that if the WHO get their way in overriding our sovereignty and voting rights over future PANDEMICS she’ll back (alongside Gaston Browne) people like Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus the head of the WHO all the way in more vaccination programmes and God knows what …

    • @ Brixtonia right as usual lol the less we see/hear of her the better for everyone.
      But there’s more of that to pass around
      🙉🙉
      Gassy
      Minster of Ghost i mean lands (Well silence is normal there )
      Sir Health
      Cutie tear Gas Benjamin
      Do nothing sit by the flag Hurst among others.

  2. “Dr. Sealey-Thomas said one detected case will be considered an outbreak”….Meanwhile Gaston signing a treaty to make the WHO our supreme authority if there is ever an “outbreak” of any kind

  3. SMH. You’re actually going to waste time on monkey pox? Ok, I get it… It’s another case of “monkey see, monkey do”. The western world is now making all kinds of animal noise about monkey pox, a disease that doesn’t actually spread very easily between humans…and of course Antigua has to follow them. It was perfectly fine when these outbreaks only affected Africans but as soon as a few westerners got infected, it’s chaos in the newsrooms as everyone tries to find the most gruesome monkey pox pictures from Africa (instead of from the past US monkey pox outbreaks in 2003 where over 70 people caught the virus) that they can find.

    Meanwhile Covid has now become as infectious as measles, the most infectious disease known to man. A person infected with the most recent versions of the coronavirus can be so infectious that they can walk into a room and spread it to 10 other persons in the room inside 5 minutes just by breathing…and you’re worried about monkey pox??? It’s truly amazing to watch this all unfold. More people will get the Covid-mediated widespread cellular damage we’re calling long COVID in the next 24 hrs than will be infected with monkey pox in the next year…but you’re setting up monkey pox surveillance when what you should be doing is studying the impact of long Covid on the local workforce. Covid, since the omicron variation, has now become a disease that can infect a person several times in a year, with long Covid as a potential consequence each time. This has research scientists worried, not monkey pox BS. Recent studies showed that vaccines don’t actually protect against long Covid, so with masks now off, a silent disaster is unfolding right under your noses. And let’s not forget about the recent cases of hepatitis in kids which research is finally acknowledging could have some link to previous silent Covid infection after all. Stop worrying about monkey pox. You weren’t worried about it when there were outbreaks in Africa. The number of cases in the world is not anywhere near high enough to put a single monkey pox infection in Antigua.

  4. This woman needs to be fired and replaced by someone who keeps up to date with current developments across the globe. The vaccines she keeps pushing are ineffective and damage people’s health. PR and political theatre. The evidence is now overwhelming.

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