Has Monkeypox been detected in Uzbekistan? Nurmat Otabekov responds.

To date, monkeypox has not been registered in Uzbekistan.  This was reported by the deputy head of the service of Sanitary-Epidemiological surveillance and public health under the Ministry of Health, doctor of medical sciences, Professor Nurmat Otabekov.

According to Otabekov, necessary precautions are currently being taken to prevent the infection from entering the country in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization.

“According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, the disease is currently registered in 14 countries.  In particular, the number of infected is reported to be approaching 90.  In addition, about 30 people are suspected of getting infected, however, deaths have not yet been reported.

According to our data, monkeypox is transmitted from animals to humans in almost all cases.  It can be detected mainly in people who travelled to endemic areas and had contact with animals”, –Nurmat Otabekov said.

Experts say that although there are no vaccines for monkeypox, several countries are trying to prevent it with conventional vaccines against smallpox.

Since the two viruses are similar, it is expected that such vaccines will be about 85 percent effective in preventing monkeypox.