CJMY
The monkeypox outbreak represents an international public health emergency announced the World Health Organisation today.
The outbreak has spread around the world rapidly said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during the announcement.
The monkeypox virus now joins the likes of H1N1, Zika and Covid-19 as a disease declared public health emergency of international concern.
“The WHO assesses that the risk of monkeypox is moderate globally except in the European region, where we assess the risk is high,” he added.
We can stop transmission and bring this outbreak under control with the tools we have right now, said Tedros.
More than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported across more than 70 countries so far this year, and the number of confirmed infections rose 77% from late June through early July, according to WHO data.
Vaccine for Monkeypox
The European Union’s drug watchdog recommended using Imnavex, a smallpox vaccine, to treat monkeypox.
Imvanex, developed by Danish drugmaker Bavarian Nordic, has been approved in the EU since 2013 to prevent smallpox.
It is considered a potential vaccine for monkeypox because of the similarity between the monkeypox virus and the smallpox virus.
The first symptoms of monkeypox are fever, headaches, muscle pain and back pain over five days.
Rashes subsequently appear on the face, the palms of hands and the soles of feet, followed by lesions, spots and finally scabs.
The Malaysian situation
Ministry of Health announced a low risk of 14 Malaysian casual contacts of a Singapore monkeypox patient getting the disease.
So far, the casual contacts are asymptomatic, said health minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
A 15th person said to be a close contact identified by the Singapore health ministry is currently undergoing quarantine.
“We are still investigating the cause of infection,” Khairy told a press conference, Bernama reported.
Khairy said the person with monkeypox, a Malaysian living in Singapore, was confirmed on Wednesday.
He said the 45-year-old man was in Johor Bahru on June 11-12. He was also in Penang from June 17-20 and in Johor Bahru again on July 2-3, when he started showing symptoms.
Khairy said the Ministry of Health is monitoring the 14 casual contacts in Malaysia by conducting health screening to ensure no further infections.
Five suspected monkeypox cases reported in Malaysia, but none had been confirmed positive for the disease said Khairy.
