Monkeypox: DGHS issues alert at all airports

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has issued an alert to all airports in Bangladesh for monkeypox as cases have been found in some European countries.

The alert was issued to prevent the infection from spreading, said Prof Ahmedul Kabir, additional director general of the DGHS, on Sunday.

Prof Ahmedul Kabir said, “It is our usual practice to issue an alert at airports whenever a new disease is reported. That’s why we alerted the airports through a letter from the Disease Control Department of the directorate.”

He said any patient identified with the infection will be kept isolated at the infectious disease hospital in Dhaka.

“We’re getting reads as it’s a highly communicable disease. We have prepared the Infectious Disease Hospital in Mohakhali to isolate the patients if any cases are found.”

“We are issuing warnings at airports, land ports and other ports.” I also told the medical officers at the airport to be careful. If anyone identified with the disease, he should be rushed to the hospital, said Prof Nazmul Islam, spokesperson of the DGHS.

Monkeypox was initially discovered in monkeys but human cases of the disease have also cropped up in Western and Middle African countries. Previous instances of the disease were only found in Africa.