Embark on SOPs amidst Mpox outbreak

Journalist engaged in Mpox sensitization

The public has been argued to embark on SOP’s amidst the outbreak of Mpox in the country which could be avoided and controlled by the following of the standard Operating Procedure
While in a regional harmonizing response to Mpox at Kalya courts, the Bundibughyo district Health Educator Mr.Bagonza Majid Abudalah says it’s important for members of the community to understand that Mpox is in our communities and it transmitted through the same means like COVID 19 hence calling for community members to embark on the standard Operating Procedures
Affected districts
The most affected districts are Kampala, Wakiso, Kasese ,Mayuge, Amuru, Nakaseke, Kagadi, Nakasongola, Adjumani, and Mukono with cumulative number of 24 cases ,no death with 91.7% being Ugandans(22 out of 24) with the remaining percentage being for foreigners who are 2 . Health officials are implementing outbreak control interventions in all affected areas through surveillance and contact tracing.

Bagonza the Bundibugyo district Health educator

Transmission

Mpox spreads from person to person mainly through close contact with someone who has mpox, including members of a household. Close contact includes skin-to-skin (such as touching or sex) and mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-skin contact (such as kissing), and it can also include being face-to-face with someone who has mpox (such as talking or breathing close to one another, which can generate infectious respiratory particles).
People with multiple sexual partners are at higher risk of acquiring mpox, contaminated objects such as clothing or linen, through needle injuries in health care, during pregnancy or birth, the virus may be passed to the baby. Experts are advising pregnant mothers to be extra careful since contracting the disease can be dangerous for the fetus or newborn infant, lead to loss of the pregnancy, stillbirth, death of the newborn, or complications for the parent.
The disease can also be transmitted from Animal-to-human from infected animals to humans from bites or scratches, or during activities such as hunting, skinning, trapping, cooking, playing with carcasses or eating animals. 

Signs and symptoms

Catherine Kemigabo the Kabarole district Health educator says People with Mpox often get chicken pox, swollen lymph nodes, general body pain, skin rush, fever, headache and back pain.  Symptoms usually start appearing between 14- 28 days after contracting the disease. She argued people to visit a healthcare provider if you have a new or unexplained rash, especially after contact with someone who has Mpox.
She adds that laboratory technicians, pregnant women and children, care takers of patients with Mpox, sex workers and people who hunt wild animals are among the people at risk of getting the disease easily hence calling for collaborative from the community in reporting suspected cases to avoid the spread of the disease

Kemigabo the Kabarole district health educator

Prevention Of the spread
To prevent spread of mpox to others, people with mpox should isolate at home following guidance from their health care provider, lesions and wearing a well-fitting mask when in the presence of others may help prevent spread. Using condoms during sex will help reduce the risk of getting mpox but will not prevent spread from skin-to-skin or
Those who have had contact with someone with mpox should monitor for signs and symptoms for 21 days (3 weeks) and take precautions such as avoiding sexual activity, moving using public transport during this period.
Health workers should follow infection prevention and control measures to protect themselves while caring for patients with mpox by wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) including gloves, gown, eye protection and respirator

Stigma

Kemigabo added that Stigma linked to mpox can undermine public health efforts or prolong a disease outbreak, as people may be more reluctant to come out and seek care and treatment. For mpox, stigma and discrimination has been particularly directed against communities initially most affected by the disease hence advocating for a free stigma community if the disease to be eliminated

Outbreaks

The mpox virus was discovered in Denmark (1958) in monkeys kept for research. The first reported human case of mpox was a nine-month-old boy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1970). Following the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the end of smallpox vaccination worldwide, mpox steadily emerged in central, east and West Africa. Since then, mpox has been reported intermittently in central and east and West Africa.
Since 2022, there has also been an upsurge in mpox cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In some areas of the country, a new offshoot has been spreading person-to-person.
Uganda confirmed the first cases of Mpox on 24 July 2024 following the confirmation of two case-patients from Kasese District, Bwera Hospital by the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) through a routine sentinel surveillance system
Over 120 countries have reported mpox between Jan 2022 – Aug 2024, with over 100 000 laboratory-confirmed cases reported and over 220 deaths among confirmed cases

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