WHO representative: Georgia monitoring monkeypox disease well

Silvio Domente, the Head of the World Health Organisation’s representation in Georgia, on Monday said the country had established “good supervision” for monitoring the monkeypox disease.

In an interview with local media on Monday, Domente noted only one case had been reported in Georgia so far.

Georgia has a good supervision system and this is what the WHO calls on member states too, to strengthen supervision of the spread of the disease”, Domente said.

Domente also noted recommendations were made for state actors on how to conduct supervision over the disease, how to detect it, and how health workers should respond to prevent the disease from spreading.

• Health official says domestic monkeypox cases not recorded in past 21 days, urges public not to panic

Georgian health authorities confirmed the first case of the monkeypox virus in the country on June 15, with the patient having history of travel to Europe.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease, which means it can spread from animals to humans and among people as well.

Symptoms of the disease include fever, intense headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, swollen lymph nodes and a skin rash or lesions, lasting between two to four weeks and going away without treatment.