Turkey will not be implementing additional health measures specifically targeting African students in the face of the Mpox outbreak, Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu has said.
When asked about the issue during a press conference, the minister compared the current situation to the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the first case in Turkey was expected to come from China, yet it ultimately originated from Europe.
“In an era where everyone travels everywhere, it is difficult to precisely predict where a disease will come from,” he explained.
Recently, concerns have been raised on social media along with discriminative messages that African students might bring the disease to the country. More than 50,000 African students are studying at Turkey’s universities.
Memişoğlu acknowledged that certain regions might have higher incidences of specific diseases, which would prompt the government to take appropriate measures if necessary. However, he clarified, "At this moment, we do not see the need for any extra precautions. As I’ve always said, we need to monitor such diseases closely in healthcare, as conditions can change hourly or daily due to the mutating nature of viruses."
Preparations
The minister also reassured the public that Turkey is well-prepared to handle any potential Mpox cases. He mentioned that the Scientific Committee has convened to update guidelines on the isolation and monitoring of suspected Mpox cases following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration of emergency on Aug 14.
Memişoğlu emphasized that Mpox, a virus related to smallpox, has not yet been detected in Turkey. He explained that while smallpox vaccination was discontinued in Turkey after 1980, following the global eradication of the disease, scientists are currently investigating how effective the smallpox vaccine might be against newer variants of Mpox.
Addressing public fears, Memişoğlu confirmed that no cases of Mpox have been diagnosed in Turkey so far, despite some individuals expressing concerns at hospital emergency rooms. "We conduct tests and clinical evaluations, and so far, there has been no diagnosis of Mpox in Turkey. Should a case arise, we will immediately report it and take necessary actions, including isolation.” (VK)