MONKEYPOX-UPDATE | What to know about monkeypox and the situation in Singapore (updated 25 July)
LATEST UPDATE: Singapore authorities confirmed one more local case of monkeypox infection in Singapore on Monday (25 July).
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said the case is a 31 year-old male Philippine national, who tested positive for monkeypox on Monday.
He is currently warded at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and his condition is stable.
The case is not linked to any of the monkeypox cases earlier announced by MOH. He developed fever last Thursday, and later rashes on his face and at his perianal region with further spread to other parts of his body. He sought medical care at SGH on Sunday and was admitted on the same day. Contact tracing is ongoing.
This brings the total number of monkey cases in Singapore to nine so far, comprising five local and four imported cases.
What is monkeypox
- EXPLAINER: What is monkeypox and where is it spreading?
- Monkeypox symptoms: What to look for
- How concerned should we be about monkeypox?
- How monkeypox transmits from person to person, and how to prevent infection
Monkeypox, a usually mild viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions, has been spreading globally since May.
The fatality rate in previous outbreaks of the monkeypox strain currently spreading has been around 1 per cent.
While patients typically recover within two to four weeks, a small percentage of those infected can fall seriously ill or even die. Those particularly vulnerable to complications are young children, pregnant women or immunocompromised individuals.
The risk to the general public remains low given that transmission of the infection requires close physical or prolonged contact.
Symptoms of monkeypox (IMAGE: Getty Images)
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The situation in Singapore
- Most of WHO’s Monkeypox recommendations already in place in Singapore: MOH
- Singapore confirms first local case of monkeypox
- Singapore confirms first imported case of monkeypox
- Monkeypox diagnosed in traveller who transited through Singapore, 13 under surveillance
Health authorities in Singapore said that most of the temporary recommendations issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in declaring monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern on Saturday (23 July) are already in place since May this year.
In a media reply to Yahoo News Singapore on Sunday evening, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the city-state’s healthcare system has the expertise and capability to effectively test, diagnose and treat monkeypox infections.
It added that it has been regularly updating medical practitioners and healthcare institutions on the monkeypox situation, providing guidance on protocols for identifying suspect cases as well as management of confirmed cases.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung had previously said in a written parliamentary reply on 4 July that monkeypox is unlikely to become a global pandemic like COVID-19.
UNDATED ? JUNE 5: In this Centers for Disease Control and Prevention handout graphic, symptoms of one of the first known cases of the monkeypox virus are shown on a patient?s hand June 5, 2003. The CDC said the viral disease monkeypox, thought to be spread by prairie dogs, has been detected in the Americas for the first time with about 20 cases reported in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. (Photo Courtesy of CDC/Getty Images)
Monkeypox globally
On Saturday (23 July), the WHO said the rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak represented a global health emergency, the organisation’s highest level of alert.
Called a “public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)”, the label is designed to trigger a coordinated international response, such as unlocking funding to collaborate on sharing vaccines and treatments.
Monkeypox, A Member Of The Orthopox Family Of Viruses, Is An Infection Accidentally Transmitted To Humans Due To Its Similarity To The Smallpox Virus. Although Animals Infected With Monkeypox Exhibit No Symptoms, Infected Humans Manifest High Fever Accompanied By Headaches, Cervical And Inguinal Adenopathy, And Cutaneous Lesions That Are Similar To Those That Characterize A Smallpox Infection. As With Smallpox, No Effective Medical Treatment Has Been Identified. Here, The Arms And Legs Of A 4 Year Old Girl Infected With Monkeypox. Bondua, Grand Gedeh County, Liberia. (Photo By BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images)Ads by:
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