Skopje, 25 May 2022 (MIA) – The Commission for Infectious Diseases is concerned by the spread of the monkeypox virus and the cases outside of its endemic areas in Central and West Africa. The situation is being carefully monitored, but there is no room for panic because this epidemic is in no way identical or proportional to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, said Commission spokesperson Zlate Mehmjedovikj on Wednesday. Mehmedovikj said the Commission discussed ways to define clinical aspects to trace, screen and diagnose patients who would eventually contract monkeypox in order to prepare the healthcare system to respond to a potential epidemic in North Macedonia. The Public Health Institute has contacted the WHO in order to procure the necessary equipment to diagnose the virus, and they are also talking about procuring the necessary treatment. “We talked about carefully monitoring the situation and obtaining everything we need for timely diagnosing and treating monkeypox cases in our country. The virus has existed in the world for almost 50 years, but it was rarely found in these areas, so diagnostic tools and therapy are somewhat scarce in this part of Europe. All countries are currently struggling to provide quality diagnostics and treatment for their patients. However, the Public Health Institute contacted the World Health Organization last week to obtain special PCR kits to test for monkeypox,” Mehmedovikj told a press conference. The Public Health Institute’s website has published monkeypox symptoms, the ways it’s transferred, and hospitalization will be further announced once the clinical routes discussed on Wednesday have been defined. A specific symptom is the appearance of eczema and small bubbles on the skin, accompanied by a fever of over 38 degrees Celsius, muscle aches, back pains and fatigue. These symptoms are the same as other types of pox and the virus is confirmed via special PCR tests and equipment soon expected in this country, and Mehmedovikj stressed that the system will be fully prepared to deal with a possible epidemic as well. “We want to avoid panic. We’re concerned but are keeping track of things and we will intervene on time should there be any changes,” said Mehmedovikj. dk/ik/