Istanbul Airport has stepped up control measures against monkeypox (mpox), increasing checks on flights and passengers at high risk of infection arriving in the Turkish metropolis from the Democratic Republic of Congo and a dozen other African countries (Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, Ivory Coast and South Africa) where cases have already been detected since the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a global health alert due to the rapid spread of the virus.
Speaking to Turkish media, Dr Aykut Yener Kavak, chief doctor of Turkey’s General Directorate of Border and Coastal Health at Istanbul Airport, explained that the process of monitoring flights at the airport was initiated following the WHO alert. ‘We go to the gates of planes coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo to carry out checks. We ask if there are any passengers showing symptoms such as rashes or fever. We also check flights from 11 other countries online. Any suspected cases are thoroughly examined,’ he said.
So far, no cases of monkeypox have been detected at Istanbul Airport; there have been several suspected cases that have been examined, but none of them were ultimately found to be infected by mpox. Individuals who have symptoms such as fever, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes or who have recently travelled to one of the countries where the virus has been spread, are isolated and tested. If a passenger develops symptoms, he or she would be taken to a hospital for further monitoring.
Precisely, in a statement yesterday, Turkish health authorities were forced to deny reports in some newspapers that several patients with monkeypox had been quarantined in two hospitals in Ankara, Etlik and Bilkent. In a statement, the Ankara Provincial Health Directorate categorically denied these reports, accusing the media that published the information of spreading ‘unfounded’ fake news and sowing confusion and panic without any basis.
‘The most effective prevention is to avoid close contact’
For Kavak, the data currently available on this type of smallpox – including the new, more contagious and lethal strain that has begun to be detected this year – does not raise fears that mpox will become a new pandemic, as COVID was. ‘The WHO has confirmed this. Since the virus is not spread (through the air) by respiratory droplets, we are more at ease. The most effective prevention is to avoid close contact and not to touch skin lesions with bare hands,’ he said.
Kavak also stressed that those with weaker immune systems – including children and the elderly – are the most vulnerable, as most cases recover after 2-4 weeks, and recalled that, contrary to what happened during the COVID pandemic, there is already a vaccine available: the smallpox vaccine, which is 95% effective.
Regarding Istanbul Airport, the expert denied that it is mandatory for staff to wear masks or gloves, and only cleaning staff working in certain risk areas should wear disposable gloves. Nor is it mandatory for cabin crew and pilots to wear protective equipment, although they have been instructed on how to detect possible symptoms of mpox in order to inform the authorities, if necessary.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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