SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 26 Aug (EUROPA PRESS) –
The General Directorate of Public Health of the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS) has dispatched an updated care protocol regarding ‘monkeypox’ to the Health Area directorates across all the islands, the health management of the SCS, including both Primary Care and Specialist Care, as well as to the professional associations within the archipelago. This revision was prepared by the Ministry of Health following an agreement established in the Alerts Committee involving the Ministry and the autonomous communities.
Concurrently, it is emphasised that there is no recommendation to apply any specific protocol for the African migrant population arriving in the archipelago by maritime routes, since the WHO has not imposed any travel restrictions, and the majority of migrants arriving on the coasts of the Canary Islands come from nations currently exhibiting a low incidence of mpox.
Nevertheless, it is noted that monitoring and actions will be tailored, as with any other individual, to general suspicion criteria such as compatible clinical symptoms, epidemiological connections, or origin, the Ministry underscores in a statement.
The general management has also provided updated measures that have been agreed upon by the ministry and the autonomous communities to enhance surveillance and oversight while promoting vaccination initiatives.
The objective of this document is to supply revised and collective information in response to the latest health alert announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) following the outbreak of ‘monkeypox’, primarily affecting the Republic of the Congo and its surrounding nations.
Consequently, health professionals have been furnished with the protocols to follow should a suspected case of ‘monkeypox’ arise, alongside a reminder detailing the significance of vaccination against mpox, both pre-exposure and post-exposure.
At this stage, it is reiterated that vaccination is generally not advised for individuals travelling to nations affected by clade I.
However, a tailored assessment should be undertaken at the International Vaccination Centres to ascertain the necessity of offering vaccination based on the individual’s specific circumstances and the nature of the trip.
Additionally, they have been sent a summarised report concerning the epidemiological status of mpox cases in Spain, along with data regarding the spread of clade I of the monkeypox virus in certain African nations.
