Panama decreed this Wednesday a state of health alert for monkeypox and ordered to redouble epidemiological surveillance at entry points to the country, while enabling hospital wards to treat patients with this disease, although there are no positive cases registered in the country.
“The Minister of Health, Luis Francisco Sucre, issued a declaration of health alert throughout the country in view of the possible appearance of monkeypox,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
According to the note, this alert establishes the obligation of health personnel, both in public and private hospitals, to report any case where a person presents suspicious symptoms of the disease.
In addition, it was ordered to redouble epidemiological surveillance in hospitals and entry points of the country before the entry of any person showing symptoms of the disease.
Panamanian authorities fear that the monkeypox virus could end up entering the country due to its ample logistical connectivity, with an inter-oceanic canal, several ports and an international airport with one of the largest air connections in Latin America.
According to the note, the Panamanian government has begun to adapt some isolation wards in hospitals, both in Panama City and in the populous district of San Miguelito, adjacent to the Panamanian capital, to attend hypothetical cases.
