Fiji’s Ministry of Health has so far conducted investigations for 13 people who had demonstrated symptoms similar to those seen in monkeypox.
To date, all cases under investigation have been cleared for monkeypox.
Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong said some of those people had tested positive for viruses that caused hand foot and mouth disease or chicken pox, which were diseases that also caused a rash similar to monkeypox.
“We are developing activity plans to engage key community-based groups, and civil society networks to increase the provision of reliable and factual information about monkeypox to populations that may be at increased risk of infection,” Dr Fong said.
The ministry, he said had published a number of public advisories to help arm members of the public with the knowledge to protect themselves and help reduce the chances of spread in the community.
“Infection prevention protocols have been put together at the border and in community health facilities.
“The public advisories have covered symptoms to enable the public to quickly seek medical care while preventing transmission to others.”
The PS added that all doctors and nurses in the community needed to ensure they were well informed of how cases presented, and to be vigilant in helping cases get diagnosed early.
“We are currently awaiting testing supplies and expect to soon begin testing for monkeypox at Fiji CDC (Centre for Disease Control).
“Our ongoing efforts to develop genomic sequencing capability at Fiji CDC will also provide us with greater capacity to deal with infection threats now and in the future.”
