Health authorities Tuesday urged the population to follow all protocols regarding the spread of the Monkeypox virus as they seek to “manage the outbreak” in Trinidad and Tobago.
A statement from the Ministry of Health said that the country had recorded a third case of the virus on Monday and that “all three cases of the Mpox virus are in home isolation and do not require hospital care at this time.
“Additionally, 2,800 doses of the vaccine were procured to be administered to non-symptomatic close contacts and health care professionals in any facility where a patient would be warded. To date, no vaccines have been administered,” the ministry said in the statement.
The ministry said that the first case “in this current global outbreak was identified in May 2022 and peaked in August 2022.
“During this period, the Ministry of Health ensured that all protocols for testing, contact tracing and isolation were implemented, inclusive of sensitisation of medical professionals,” the statement said, adding that the Caura Hospital has since been designated “as the facility to care for any patient that may require hospitalisation if necessary”.
The ministry said that three confirmed cases, Trinidad and Tobago is now the 113th country to record active cases and that the Ministry of Health “is a self-limiting disease in most instances, and it is commonly spread by close contact with a positive case”.