Enhancing health care worker ability to detect and care for patients with monkeypox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
BACKGROUND
Monkeypox (MPX) is an endemic disease of public health importance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In 2010, the DRC Ministry of Health joined with external partners to improve MPX surveillance in the Tshuapa Health District of DRC. A pivotal component of the program is training of health zone personnel in surveillance methods and patient care. In this report we evaluate outcomes of the training program.


METHODS
Health care worker knowledge of key concepts in the MPX training curriculum was assessed using an anonymous self-administered survey. Additionally, evaluators collected feedback about the capacity of participants to perform the surveillance tasks. Training impacts were determined by assessing various surveillance performance metrics.


RESULTS
Correct trainee responses to questions about MPX symptoms and patient care increased significantly upon completion of training events. During the 12 months after the initial training, the proportion of suspected cases investigated increased significantly (from 6.7 to 37.3%), as compared to the 5 months prior. However, the proportion of reported cases that were ultimately confirmed remained unchanged, 20.1% (5/24) vs 23.3% (60/257).


CONCLUSIONS
We have demonstrated that the MPX curriculum developed for this initiative was effective in transferring knowledge and was associated with improved detection of human MPX cases.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Atlanta, GA USA.
Jennifer
J
Bass
Danielle M
DM
Tack
Andrea M
AM
McCollum
Joelle
J
Kabamba
Elisabeth
E
Pakuta
Jean
J
Malekani
Beatrice
B
Nguete
Benjamin P
BP
Monroe
Jeffrey B
JB
Doty
Stomy
S
Karhemere
Inger K
IK
Damon
Marcel
M
Balilo
Emile
E
Okitolonda
Robert L
RL
Shongo
Mary G
MG
Reynolds
D000328:Adult; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D045908:Mpox, Monkeypox / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
Monkeypox; PCR; Surveillance; Training evaluation; Zoonosis