20 Jun 2022

A seven-year-old boy suspected to be suffering from  Monkeypox was last week cleared and discharged after laboratory tests showed he was free from the disease.

 In an interview, Southern District Health Management Team public health specialist Dr Christopher Chembe acknowledged receipt of the suspected case. 

“Last week we had a seven-year old male patient from Manyana village who had rash on the lower limbs and had been reportedly sick for close to a month. Upon examination we established that he had rash all over the body and its distribution did not look like the common rashes like Chickenpox and Measles. The child also had swollen groin lymph nodes,” he said. 

He said the patient was immediately isolated upon admission and specimen results later came back negative for Monkeypox.

 “We also engaged a dermatologist while waiting for the specimen results, but in the end our investigations ruled out Monkeypox and the patient has since been discharged,” he said. 

Dr Chembe however advised  people to contact the nearest health facility if  they developed rash.

 “The disease is contagious so if they delay it can spread to other people,” he noted. 

WHO has reported  a cumulative 2 103 confirmed cases of Monkeypox across 42 countries between January 1 and June 15. ENDS