Lavushimanda district in Muchinga Province has recorded one positive case of Monkeypox commonly known as Mpox disease from an Eight-year-old schoolboy from Mpumba area.

District Director of Health Services (DHS) Rodrigue Kamunga has confirmed the development.

Dr Kamunga explained that the boy in question had visited Mpumba clinic last week and presented symptoms of the Mpox, such as a skin rash and a fever.

He said blood samples were collected from the boy and taken for further examination in Lusaka, where the test results for Mpox came out positive.

“The samples were collected from the boy and taken to Lusaka and they tested positive for mpox,” he said.

Dr Kamunga further explained that a team from the Department of Health Services was currently on the ground conducting some contact tracing on people who may have had direct contact with the Mpox patient so that they could also be tested.

He added that the same team of health personnel was at the same time carrying out sensitization messages on the disease to people in the surrounding villages where the Mpox patient resides.

The DHS added that even people found with chickenpox were being referred to health facilities for testing, adding that the two diseases have similar symptoms.

Dr Kamunga also stated that the department of health services will soon be conducting Monkeypox vaccinations on target populations such as travelers, school-going pupils, and some members of the community from Mpumba catchment area once they are given a go-ahead by authorities at the Provincial office in Chinsali.

He explained that the procedure was being followed before starting the vaccination exercise on Mpox by starting with mapping the targeted communities where the catchment persons are and ordering the vaccines for a certain targeted population.

“As the team is going round the communities, those that have any skin rash on their bodies are being brought to the facilities for testing and vaccination will start soon,” he added.

Dr Kamunga further said the department was also targeting to test and vaccinate truck drivers who park at various lay-bys in the area for Mpox because they were also suspects who may be carrying the disease.

He added that ladies who patronise nightclubs and truck parks will also be tested and vaccinated because of their direct contact with truck drivers and other travelers.

Dr. Kamunga, however, said the Department of Health Services suspects that the monkeypox being recorded in the area were imported cases since Lavushimanda was a transit district, which received travelers from across the country and other neighboring countries on a daily basis.

He, however, stated that the team of health personnel was still establishing the source of the current mpox case.

Dr Kamunga urged members of the public to be on the lookout for any suspected Mpox and rush to the nearest health facility whenever they experienced any skin rash and fever because the disease was now with a member of the community.

He added that people should stop patronising areas such as truck parks and sharing the same kitchen utensils and bedding but exercise high levels of hygiene at the household level and at their places of business.

Dr Kamunga further said Mpox disease was transmitted by having direct contact with the affected person through sharing the same plates, spoons or cups, beddings and linen.

Last year, the district recorded two cases of Monkey pox from two people who travelled to Lavushimanda from Lusaka and the Copperbelt.