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Rabat – While reassuring citizens that monkeypox disease does not spread as rapidly as COVID-19, Morocco’s Minister of Health Khalid Ait Taleb called for collective vigilance as the country puts in place the measures to fight against the virus.
In a series of answers for MPs at the House of Representatives, Ait Taleb warned on Monday that monkeypox requires more vigilance to avoid infection. While the Monkeypox virus disappears three weeks after infection, there is to date no cure for the disease, he emphasized.
Ait Taleb also outlined Morocco’s strategy to fight against the spread of the virus, recalling that the country has adopted a four-phase plan to tackle the Monkeypox crisis.
The first phase of Morocco’s plan focuses on training health professionals to diagnose and treat the disease, while the second phase covers the process of diagnosing the disease in laboratories.
The third phase concerns the management of suspected cases, whereas the fourth phase focuses on the separation of infected persons from their contacts.
“If a person’s infection is confirmed, the optimal method at the treatment phase is home isolation for a period of three weeks,” the minister explained, emphasizing that admission to a hospital only happens in critical cases when the patient is affected in the lungs, brain or eye.
On June 2, Morocco’s Ministry of Health confirmed the first case of monkeypox, noting that the infection was imported from a European country.
While the patient’s state of health is stable and does not cause concern, he is under medical supervision in accordance with the health measures adopted to fight against this virus, the ministry stressed.
Monkeypox symptoms include fever, intense headache, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, as well as skin rash.
The symptoms last between two days to a month.
Over the past few days, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that more countries are set to see an outbreak of monkeypox.
