Maseru, Aug. 27 — The Ministry of Health held a media briefing regarding the updates on Mpox outbreak in Maseru.
During the briefing, Dr. Mary Stephen from the World Health Organization (WHO) mentioned that WHO declared Mpox as a public health emergency of international concern.
“This outbreak is spreading regionally and countries are supposed to prepare,” she said.
She indicated that the media plays a crucial role in helping raise awareness of the spread of Mpox to the communities.
“Mpox is an infectious disease transmitted through direct contact,” she mentioned.
She voiced that the right action for a person to take if infected by Mpox, they should visit the health facilities for emergency attendance.
However, the Acting Director General of Health Services, Dr. Lucy Mapota, declared that Mpox is an infectious disease that is caused by monkey-pox.
“This disease is transmitted by different wild animals as this disease affects people and animals,” she said.
Dr. Mapota revealed that people can be infected by Mpox by touching the meat of animals infected by this disease, being bitten by infected animals and being in the affected places.
“Reports indicate that the Mpox outbreak in many countries was in May 2022,” indicated Dr. Mapota.
She indicated that the signs and symptoms of Mpox normally show after five (5) to 21 days of infection.
“These signs can be headache, muscle aches, fatigue, rash that appears all over the lines, inflammation of the glands and too much heat,” she revealed.
She stressed that people with chronic diseases should protect themselves from diseases because they are at greater risk of developing severe diseases if they are infected with Mpox virus.
“The symptoms take at least two (2) to (4) weeks before a person recovers while those with weak immune systems can take a longer time to recover,” said Dr. Mapota.
When concluding, she voiced that Lesotho has not reported any cases of Mpox currently and screening is being made in the border posts for people coming in the country.
