No cases of monkeypox detected in Armenia - minister
YEREVAN, July 28. /ARKA/. Armenian health authorities order monekypox tests in all suspicious health cases, however, no cases of the disease have been recorded so far, Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said at a press briefing on Thursday.
"We have received monkeypox testing kits from Russia. We use them in suspicious cases. The results of all the tests conducted so far are negative. No cases of monkeypox have been recorded in Armenia," she said.
On the eve Russia handed over to Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan monkeypox virus tests, produced by Vektor Research Center.
Monkeypox is a virus similar to smallpox, but symptoms are less severe. It was discovered in 1958, after outbreaks occurred in monkeys kept for research. The virus was primarily found in parts of Central and West Africa, but in recent weeks it has spread to dozens of countries and infected tens of thousands of people, overwhelmingly men who have sex with men. On July 23, WHO declared monkeypox a global health emergency. -0-
