The Health Bureau (SSM) said yesterday that the government will submit a bill to the Legislative Assembly (AL), which proposes to list monkeypox as a communicable disease so that it will be covered by rules listed in Macau’s infectious disease law.
Tai Wa Hou, a clinical director of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, made the remarks during yesterday’s regular press conference by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre.
Despite the fact that monkeypox is currently not a statutory infectious disease in Macau, Tai noted that the Health Bureau has meanwhile told the local health sector that doctors and medical institutions suspecting such a case must report it to the bureau.
In addition, Tai said, the Health Bureau has also published guidelines for medical institutions which give various clinical and epidemiological details about monkeypox, such as symptoms, transmission channels, incubation period, and groups of people more susceptible to the disease.
The Health Bureau will also provide training for health workers enhancing their ability to identify possible monkeypox patients, Tai said.
The Macau Health Bureau will also contact pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide for the purchase of possible newly-developed medicines and vaccines against monkeypox, Tai said.
There are no medicines specifically for the treatment of monkeypox. Normally, doctors will give patients treatments that merely aim to relieve their symptoms.
There are also no vaccines specifically for monkeypox, but smallpox vaccines can help protect against monkeypox.
Tai noted that monkeypox, smallpox and cowpox are the same type of virus, like “relatives”. Tai noted that Macau had vaccinated the population against smallpox until 1980, meaning that currently many of those in their forties in Macau have been inoculated against smallpox.
Tai noted that historical research data indicates that smallpox vaccine can protect against monkeypox with an efficacy rate of around 85 percent and that the immunity can last a very long time “if not permanently”.
Consequently, Tai said, a certain percentage of residents in Macau are immune to monkeypox.
Tai noted that the monkeypox virus was discovered in 1958. He said that the monkeypox virus is a DNA virus, which is different to RNA viruses such as the novel coronavirus and influenza virus. He said that DNA viruses are more stable than RNA viruses, meaning that DNA viruses are less likely to mutate compare to RNA viruses.
Although Macau currently does not have a high risk of massive transmissions of monkeypox, Tai warned that nevertheless its potential risk to Macau cannot be ignored.
The bill must be passed by lawmakers in order to become law.
