Jakarta, 6/8/2022 (ANTARA) - Amid the global fight against COVID-19, which was first detected in China in late 2019, nearly 80 countries have lately found themselves battling another front - the outbreak of monkeypox.
On July 23, 2022, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
As of August 2, a total of 25,436 monkeypox cases have been confirmed in nearly 80 countries.
The
United States, which currently has the most monkeypox cases in the
world at more than 6,600, declared the outbreak a public health
emergency on August 4.
The first monkeypox infection was
detected in the United Kingdom in early May in an individual with a
travel history to Nigeria, where the disease is endemic. Later, the
virus spread to other European countries before moving to the United
States, Canada, South America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.
First identified in monkeys in 1958, the disease is characterized by mild symptoms such as fever, aches, and pus-filled skin lesions. People tend to recover from it within two to four weeks, according to the WHO.
The monkeypox virus spreads through close physical contact and is rarely fatal. The vast majority of patients in several countries, including the US, have so far been men who have sex with men.
In the Southeast Asian region, three countries have reported monkeypox cases as of July: Singapore, with eleven confirmed cases; Thailand, with two cases; and the Philippines, with one case.
Indonesia has so far reported no confirmed monkeypox cases, despite the detection of several suspected cases.
According to Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, a total of nine suspected monkeypox were detected in Indonesia, but all of them tested negative for monkeypox and positive for smallpox.
