Kyrgyz Health Ministry holds drill on response to possible hantavirus case

The Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic conducted a tabletop exercise on responding to a suspected case of a particularly dangerous infection, including hantavirus.

According to the ministry, the exercise tested interagency coordination mechanisms, emergency notification procedures, and the transmission of urgent information within the framework of the International Health Regulations, as well as the actions of public health services in detecting a suspected case of a highly dangerous infectious disease.

Participants in the drill included the Department of Disease Prevention and State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision, the Republican Center for Prevention and Control of Particularly Dangerous Quarantine Infections, the sanitary quarantine unit at Manas International Airport, the Republican Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital, the Republican Immunization Center, the Republican Center for Health Promotion and Mass Communication, emergency medical services, other relevant agencies, and representatives of international organizations.

Special attention was paid to the readiness of healthcare institutions to isolate and hospitalize patients, manage contacts, comply with biosafety measures, conduct laboratory diagnostics, provide medical personnel with personal protective equipment, and ensure timely public information.

Following the exercise, the ministry will analyze the performance of all participating services and develop additional measures to improve the national response system to threats posed by particularly dangerous infections.

Earlier, the World Health Organization reported 11 cases of hantavirus among passengers aboard the cruise vessel MV Hondius, including three fatalities.