Health authorities in Ankara have denied media reports claiming that four people were put in quarantine at two hospitals in the city for suspected mpox infections.
A report in the Sözcü daily claimed on Thursday that one person was put in quarantine at the Etlik Hospital and that three others were quarantined at the Bilkent Hospital after they showed symptoms similar to those of the mpox infection.
The provincial health directorate in Ankara in a statement on Thursday denied the claims, saying there are no patients at any of the hospitals in the city who have been placed under quarantine over suspected mpox infections. The directorate said such “unsubstantiated” media reports are aimed at creating panic in the society.
The directorate called on people to ignore such reports and follow the updates made by health ministry officials.
On Wednesday Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu once again reiterated that no mpox cases have been detected in Turkey in 2024.
“The mpox infection has not been detected in our country so far [this year]. There are people going to the hospital with suspicion of an infection. But nobody has been diagnosed with mpox so far,” said the minister.
He added that the ministry is doing its best to take the necessary measures against an outbreak of the virus in the country.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an mpox outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) last week, which also raised concerns in Turkey about the spread of the disease.
According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that there were 12 mpox cases detected in Turkey as of September 2023. According to the CDC, there have been no mpox-related deaths in Turkey so far.
Turkey’s former health minister, Fahrettin Koca, announced the detection of the first mpox infection in the country in June 2022, but the ministry has not shared any updated figures about the number of the people infected with mpox virus thus far.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that can spread easily between people and from infected animals. It can spread through close contact such as touching, kissing or sex as well as through contaminated materials like sheets, clothing and needles, according to the WHO. Symptoms include fever, painful rash, headache, muscle and back pain, low energy and enlarged lymph nodes.
This PHEIC determination is the second in two years relating to mpox. Caused by an Orthopoxvirus, mpox was first detected in humans in 1970, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The disease is considered endemic to countries in central and west Africa.
In July 2022 the multi-country outbreak of mpox was declared a PHEIC as it spread rapidly via sexual contact across a range of countries where the virus had not been seen before. That PHEIC was declared over in May 2023 after there had been a sustained decline in global cases.