The Ministry of Health says it has strengthened its screening system across the country, including the Katunayake Airport, in view of the global surge in the monkeypox disease.
Issuing a statement, Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Palitha Mahipala said necessary protocols have been put in place to detect passengers who could bring in the disease to Sri Lanka.
Dr. Mahipala further said that in the event a monkeypox case is detected in Sri Lanka, the necessary treatment centre has been established at the Non-Communicable Diseases Unit in Colombo.
Stating that the Medical Research Centre in Colombo is equipped with the necessary monkeypox detection laboratory tests, he said the necessary directives have been issued to the relevant authorities with regard to the disease.
The measures are being taken after the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recent decision to declare the infectious disease a public health emergency of international concern. (Newswire)
