Beijing, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean Disease Control Agency reported on the 22nd that the Northeast Asian country found two suspected cases of monkey pox on the 21st, both of which have recently entered the country, and are being further tested.
In Southeast Asia, the Singapore health department announced the confirmation of a case of imported monkey pox on the night of the 21st. This shows that this wave of monkeypox outbreaks has also emerged in Asia after the outbreak in Non-endemic areas such as Europe and the Americas in May.
People walk in Hangang Park in Seoul, South Korea, on May 24. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Yiliang
South Korea reported two suspected cases
The Korean Centers for Disease Management said that a suspected case was a foreign citizen, who entered the country on the 20th, and after developing symptoms of monkeypox such as sore throat and skin damage, he went to a hospital in the southern city of Busan on the 21st, and the hospital reported it as a suspected monkeypox case and has now received treatment in the isolation ward.
Another case is a South Korean citizen who arrived at Incheon International Airport in South Korea by plane from Germany on the afternoon of the 21st, claimed to have developed symptoms two days before entering the country, and was immediately admitted to the Incheon Medical Center as a designated hospital.
Yonhap News Agency reported that south Korea has been vigilant about the risk of monkeypox inflows into the country, given that more and more countries are reporting monkeypox cases and many countries have relaxed international travel restrictions.
Visitors cool off from a water project at Hangang Park in Yeouido, Seoul, South Korea, on May 24. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Yiliang
South Korea's health department this month classified monkeypox as a Category B infectious disease. Currently, 22 infectious diseases, including COVID-19, cholera and chickenpox, fall into this category.
South Korean officials said the government is preparing to import the antiviral drug Takovere, which could be taken by 500 people next month. This drug has been approved in some countries for the treatment of positive pox virus infections such as smallpox and monkeypox.
The current regulations for the prevention and treatment of monkeypox in South Korea are: monkeypox patients need to be isolated in specialized hospitals; People who have close contacts of the case must undergo self-isolation for a period of 21 days.
One case has been confirmed in Singapore
This is a night view of Singapore taken on April 14. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Deng Zhiwei)
Singapore Ministry of Health reported a case of monkeypox late at night on the 21st, an imported case, is a 42-year-old British male flight attendant, in the middle of this month with an international flight to and from Singapore, monkeypox tested positive on the 20th, admitted to the Singapore National Infectious Disease Centre, is currently in stable condition.
The 13 close contacts who have been confirmed by the circulation will be quarantined for 21 days as required, counting from the most recent contact with the patient. Authorities are still investigating the trajectory of the flights and cases during their new stay.
The last time a case of monkeypox was reported in Singapore was three years ago.
A Singapore Airlines aircraft taxis along the runway of Singapore Changi Airport on 11 September 2020. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Deng Zhiwei)
Singapore is the first Southeast Asian country to report monkeypox cases this year. According to the six regions divided by the World Health Organization, South Korea and Singapore belong to the "Western Pacific Region". Australia in the same region reported the first case of monkeypox in the country since the wave of monkeypox outbreaks on the 20th of last month, and as of the 15th of this month, a total of 8 cases have been confirmed.
Monkeypox virus is mainly endemic in Central and West Africa, but since the non-endemic countries reported monkeypox cases last month, more than 30 countries in Europe, the Americas and other places have had monkeypox cases, and more than 2,000 cases have been confirmed so far. As of the 21st, the cumulative number of reported monkeypox cases by the French health department increased to 277; The number of existing monkeypox cases in Canada increased to 198; The UK has reported 793 cases, the most in Europe.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is scheduled to preside over a meeting of the WHO Emergency Committee on the 23rd to assess whether the monkeypox outbreak constitutes a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern". (Shen Min)
Source: Xinhua News Agency