GENEVA: Swiss health officials on Saturday reported the country’s first case of monkeypox in a person living in the canton of Bern but who was exposed while abroad.
Bern’s health authority said the patient had been treated as a walk-in case and was now isolating at home. Everyone who had come into contact with him had been informed, it added in a statement.
“As far as we know, the person concerned was exposed to the virus abroad,” the statement added.
Health officials became aware of the case on Friday, and it was confirmed as monkeypox the following day.
Switzerland thus joins several western countries, including Britain, Germany, Spain, Sweden the United Kingdom and the United States in reporting cases, raising fears the virus may be spreading.
Symptoms of the rare disease include fever, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion and a chickenpox-like rash on the hands and face.
The virus can be transmitted through contact with skin lesions or droplets from a contaminated person, as well as through shared items such as bedding or towels.
Monkeypox usually clears up after two to four weeks, according to the World Health Organization.
The World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe Hans Kluge warned on Friday that cases could accelerate in the coming months, as the virus spread across Europe.
Most initial cases of the disease have been among men who have sex with men and sought treatment at sexual health clinics, Kluge said, adding “this suggests that transmission may have been ongoing for some time.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it is investigating the fact that many cases reported were people identifying as gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men.
Switzerland reports first monkeypox case
https://arab.news/6h6d2
Switzerland reports first monkeypox case
- Bern's health authority said the patient had been treated as a walk-in case and was now isolating at home
- Health officials became aware of the case on Friday, and it was confirmed as monkeypox the following day
India rolls out free HPV vaccines to combat cervical cancer
- Nationwide HPV vaccination campaign targets 11.5 million 14-year-old girls annually
- India records about 80,000 cervical cancer deaths, 120,000 new cases every year
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a free HPV vaccination drive on Saturday for young girls across India, which has the world’s highest rate of cervical cancer deaths.
India records around 120,000 new cases of cervical cancer annually and around 80,000 deaths. It is the second-most-common cancer among women in the country.
India has the highest number of cervical cancer deaths, followed by China and Indonesia. The number of cases in India is the second highest globally, after China.
With cervical cancer largely preventable through HPV vaccination and regular screening, the new campaign aims to vaccinate around 11.5 million 14-year-old Indian girls annually.
“The prime minister launched the nationwide HPV vaccination campaign … describing it as a pivotal step toward empowering India’s ‘Nari Shakti’ (women power) and ensuring the health of mothers and daughters,” Modi’s office said in a statement.
Under the campaign, a dose of HPV vaccine will be provided free of cost at all government health centers across the country for all 14-year-old girls, said Anupriya Satel, minister of state for health and family welfare.
“This initiative is a historic step towards protecting our adolescent girls from serious diseases like cervical cancer,” she wrote on X.
The launch event, which took place in the northern city of Ajmer, also saw a few young girls receiving the HPV vaccine on stage.
The vaccination is a “powerful preventive step that can save lives,” according to a statement from India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which also said that HPV vaccinations can help families “secure a healthier, cancer-free future for India’s daughters.”
