Ethiopia has stepped up surveillance for monkeypox, although no cases have been detected in the country so far, the Ethiopian Institute of Public Health said on Wednesday.
Screening of passengers arriving at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa and refugees entering the country has been stepped up, while screening and monitoring measures are being put in place at 20 border entry and exit areas , said Mesay Hailu, director general of the institute, noting that there is a high probability of the disease breaking out in Ethiopia.
About 50 labs have been established across the country to detect the virus, Hailu added, while acknowledging the shortage of testing kits due to stretched global supply chains.
On July 23, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
Over 18,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported to WHO in 78 countries. More than 70% of the cases came from the European region and 25% from the Americas, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.
