Latest: UAE officials urge caution after first monkeypox case confirmed
The UAE has recorded its first case of the monkeypox virus, the country's health ministry said on Tuesday.
The patient is a 29-year-old woman from a West African nation — officials did not specify which — and she is receiving the necessary medical care, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said in a statement carried by state news agency Wam.
The ministry statement described the patient as a visitor to the UAE.
At the weekend, officials urged hospitals and health facilities nationwide to immediately report suspected cases for further investigation.
Over the past few days, several European and North American countries including Britain, France and the US have reported cases of the rare virus, which is endemic in parts of Africa.
Medical authorities have said, however, that the risk that the disease will spread widely is low.
No deaths have been reported to date.
In a bulletin on Wednesday, the World Health Organisation's Eastern Mediterranean office said the UAE's case was the first in the region it oversees, which includes the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Worldwide, as of 23 May, 131 confirmed cases have been reported from 18 countries across different WHO regions, with an additional 106 suspected cases being investigated.
“The situation is evolving and the WHO expects there will be more cases of monkeypox identified as surveillance expands in non-endemic countries,” WHO said.
What is Monkeypox?
Monkeypox is a virus that originates in wild animals such as rodents and primates and occasionally jumps to people. It belongs to the same virus family as smallpox.
Most human cases have been discovered in Central and West Africa and outbreaks have been relatively limited.
The illness was identified by scientists in 1958 when they discovered two outbreaks of a “pox-like” disease in research monkeys — which is where the virus gets its name. The first known human infection was in 1970 in a young boy in a remote part of Congo.
What are the symptoms and how is it treated?
Most monkeypox patients experience fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. People with more serious illness may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.
In general, recovery takes about two to four weeks without the need to be admitted to hospital, but monkeypox can be fatal in up to 6 per cent of cases and is thought to be more severe in children.
Smallpox vaccines are effective against monkeypox and antiviral drugs are also being developed.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recommended all suspected cases be isolated and that high-risk contacts be offered a smallpox vaccine. The UK is offering high-risk contacts the smallpox vaccine and recommending anyone who might be infected to isolate until they recover.
The US has 1,000 doses of a vaccine approved for the prevention of monkeypox and smallpox, plus more than 100 million doses of an older-generation smallpox vaccine in a government stockpile, officials said.
How many monkeypox cases are there each year?
The WHO estimates there are thousands of monkeypox infections in about a dozen African countries every year. Most are in Congo, which reports about 6,000 cases annually, and Nigeria, with about 3,000 cases a year.
In the past, isolated cases of monkeypox have been spotted outside Africa, including in the US and Britain. The cases were mostly linked to travel in Africa or contact with animals from areas where the disease is more common.
In 2003, 47 people in six US states had confirmed or probable cases and caught the virus from pet prairie dogs that had been housed near imported small mammals from Ghana.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Haircare resolutions 2021
From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.
1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'
You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.
2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'
Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.
3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’
Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
