SINGAPORE, May 21 — Cases of monkeypox have been on the rise across the world, with a handful appearing in the United Kingdom over the last month, and new cases being reported in...
SINGAPORE, May 21 — Cases of monkeypox have been on the rise across the world, with a handful appearing in the United Kingdom over the last month, and new cases being reported in Australia, France, Italy and Sweden.
News agency BBC reported that since the first case of monkeypox was detected in the UK on May 7 from a patient who had travelled to Nigeria, there have been a total of 20 confirmed cases in the UK this month. An infected person may have symptoms that include fever, headaches, swellings, back pain, aching muscles and a general fatigue.
For transmissions via droplets from respiratory particles, there usually has to be prolonged face-to-face contact, and this puts health workers, household members and other close contacts of active cases at greater risk. The vice-dean of research at Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health added: “We would hope it should be lower in high-income countries with more healthcare resources.”Experts told TODAY that the spread of the virus has caught the world by surprise because it is not commonly spread among people.
Based on the evidence so far, “there is a significant amount of human-to-human transmission in Europe also apparently among men who have sex with men”, Dr Tambyah added. WHO stated on its website that close physical contact is a well-known risk factor for disease spread, but it is unclear at this time if the monkeypox virus can be passed specifically through sexual contact and that more studies are needed to better understand this risk.
The experts also noted that the spread of monkeypox could have coincided with the reopening of travel worldwide as Covid-19 border controls eased. MOH said that the close contacts were also offered vaccinations, which can prevent the disease or reduce the severity of its symptoms, and those who develop symptoms would be treated at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases .TODAY reached out to NCID and MOH to ask about the health protocols that would be put in place should there be an outbreak of monkeypox in Singapore.
“If sexual transmission is the main route of spread, it should act as a ‘brake’ on the growth of any outbreak, because the number of contacts is much higher for respiratory pathogens than sexually transmitted ones, making contact tracing relatively easier.
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