MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th May, 2022) Armenia has banned the import of primates and rodents until late November in a bid to prevent the spread of monkeypox into the country, the Armenian food safety inspection authority said on Friday.
"Taking into account cases of the zoonotic disease of monkepox spreading around the world and in order to prevent the disease from entering Armenia, the head of the food safety inspection authority has banned the import of primates and rodents into the country from May 28 to November 28," the watchdog said in a statement.
Transportation and transit of these animals from the Eurasian Economic Union countries are also prohibited,� authorities added.
The UK Health Security Agency was the first health authority outside Africa to publicly report a case of monkeypox on May 7, in a patient who had recently traveled to Nigeria. Since then, an outbreak of monkeypox has also been confirmed in some countries of Europe and North America. As of Thursday, the World Health Organization has registered about 200 monkeypox cases in over 20 countries across the globe, with another 100 cases being investigated.
Monkeypox is a rare viral disease that is usually transmitted to people from wild animals and is endemic in some African countries. The disease can be transmitted through body fluids, respiratory droplets and other contaminated materials. The disease usually results in fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes.
