Cyprus ready to deal with monkeypox

Cyprus is fully prepared to deal with an outbreak of monkeypox, Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said on Sunday, adding that if necessary, tests for the disease will be carried out on the island.

“We are fully prepared. Three or four days ago we had a suspicious case which we handled perfectly at the Nicosia general hospital. The incident did not see the light of day, but the way we handled it shows our preparedness,” he said.

Asked whether it is worrying that there is an increase in cases of monkeypox in Europe and especially in the UK, a country from which Cyprus receives its most tourists, Hadjipantela said that “there is an increase in cases around the world, but in our country we are fully prepared”.

“We are already doing the tests if needed in Cyprus. It is the test we used for the suspected case that we have carried out at the Institute of Genetics and we have very good results,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, a suspected case of monkeypox that came to the health authority’s attention on June 1, turned out to be a case of chickenpox.