The seventh and eighth cases of monkeypox in Singapore were confirmed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Sunday (July 24).
This came just one day after the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said at a media briefing that the current monkeypox outbreak represents a global health emergency.
On June 21, MOH announced an imported case of monkeypox infection, a 42-year-old British national who works as a flight attendant and was in the country between Jun 15 and 17.
And on July 6, the first local case of monkeypox was confirmed. A Malaysian man living in Singapore, 45, tested positive for the infection and was confined at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
The next two cases were confirmed on Jul 14.
MOH announced two more cases of monkeypox on its website on Jul 24, bringing the total to eight—four local and four imported, with none of the cases linked to one another.
The seventh case is an Estonian national, 46, who arrived in Singapore from London on July 21, and is now warded at the NCID.
“He tested positive for monkeypox on 24 July. He developed rashes in the groin area, had fever and lymphadenopathy, and sought medical care on 23 July,” MOH said.
The second is a local case: a Singaporean citizen, aged 26, who tested positive for the infection on July 24.
MOH said, “The case developed rashes in the genital region and other parts of his body, and sought medical care on 24 July. He was subsequently admitted to NCID on the same day.”
Both patients are stable, and contact tracing is ongoing, MOH added.
Monkeypox is a viral disease caused by infection of the monkeypox virus. Most patients recover from the infection within two to three weeks. Some symptoms of monkeypox typically include fever, headache, muscle ache, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, lethargy and skin rashes.
“In some cases, however, the virus can cause serious complications. Individuals who are at higher risk of severe illness include young children, pregnant women, or immunocompromised individuals,” MOH has warned on its website.
The incubation period ranges from five to 21 days. Those with the infection are generally infectious from the onset of fever until the skin lesions have scabbed over.
There have been reports of monkeypox cases in dozens of countries since May of this year.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Saturday (Jul 23) that he reconvened the emergency committee “in light of the evolving monkeypox outbreak with over 16,000 reported cases from 75 countries & territories.”
For the WHO to declare a “public health emergency of international concern” means that an alarm has been made for a coordinated international response to the spread of disease as well as the possibility for funding to be allocated and international efforts for sharing treatment and vaccines.
While effective treatments and vaccines for monkeypox are already available, these supplies are not enough. /TISG