Health ministry should prepare citizens to deal with rare monkeypox

Test tubes labelled 'Monkeypox virus positive' are seen in this illustration taken May 23, 2022. [Reuters]

Cases of monkeypox, an extremely rare disease that is a cousin of smallpox, have been reported in several countries in Europe. Several people have been diagnosed with the disease in Spain, UK, Italy and even in the United States and Canada.

The Ministry of Health in Kenya should make the necessary arrangements to keep the nation informed and to prevent the disease from landing and spreading across the country. We have not fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, therefore it would be a tragedy if another disease outbreak got us unprepared.