MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine health authorities devise strategies against monkeypox

It is important to learn from the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vizzotti stressed

Argentine Health Minister Carla Vizzotti convened a meeting with “experts” to generate “strategies to strengthen epidemiological surveillance, work together with the jurisdictions to decentralize diagnosis, train health teams and generate information actions for society.”

With the malady already declared an international emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO), “the idea of this meeting is to analyze the current situation, to think together about different types of strategies and to listen to concrete recommendations based on scientific evidence and our epidemiological situation,” said Vizzotti through a statement.

Vizzotti insisted on capitalizing on the “lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic that helped the strengthening of laboratories.”

“It is necessary to work with ANLIS-Malbrán [Institute] and the different jurisdictions to carry out training in everything related to diagnosis and laboratory, with the aim of decentralizing these tasks gradually and in a timely manner,” she added.

The minister also considered it of the utmost importance that healthcare practitioners take samples of all suspected cases and make arrangements for the clinical management and the isolation of patients.

“We have to work together with civil society and the community to disseminate information about this disease with clear language, especially about prevention measures,” Vizzotti stressed.

By July 27, a total of 24 cases had been reported nationwide, of which 13 were in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, 6 in the province of Buenos Aires, 3 in Córdoba, 1 in Mendoza, and 1 in Santa Fe, with “100% of cases” corresponding to male patients aged between 47 and 24 years.