The Director of Public Health, Dr Helen Carter, has assessed the risk of Mpox in Gibraltar as “low”, after the World Health Organisation declared an outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
Earlier this week, the WHO said the determined that the upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
In Gibraltar, Dr Helen told the Chronicle the GHA has moved to enhanced surveillance and reviewed diagnostic pathways and treatment options.
“No specific advice being published at this time but some general advice s will be placed on the GHA PH webpage,” she said.
Dr Carter said there is increased surveillance and should those who have visited the affected areas contact the GHA.
“Advice is that if you are traveling to affected areas be mindful of the symptoms and route of transmission ie close skin to skin contact.”
Anyone who has travelled to an affected area and develops symptoms such as a blistering rash should call 111 for advice, where the GHA will assess the patient and advise on where to attend to be tested.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is passed on through close physical contact, including during sexual contact, kissing, cuddling, or holding hands.
Symptoms include a high temperature, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen glands, exhaustion, joint pain, and a rash.
UK health officials have said they are preparing for any potential cases of a new strain of mpox after the World Health Organisation declared outbreaks of the virus in Africa a global emergency.
The strain, known as clade 1b, emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
World Health Organisation director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak in DRC a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (2005) on Wednesday.
The virus had previously been declared a PHEIC in July 2022, but this was lifted in May 2023 after a decline in cases globally.
The clade 1b strain emerged last year, with 100 lab-confirmed cases also detected in countries that have not reported mpox before – Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
“The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighbouring countries are very worrying,” Dr Tedros said.
“On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a co-ordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”
