The Macau Health Bureau (SSM) has again urged residents to remain vigilant against monkeypox, which was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in late July.
The bureau made a statement last night that urged residents to intensify their vigilance against monkeypox. Last night’s statement came after Hong Kong reported its first monkeypox case yesterday.
No monkeypox case has been reported in Macau.
The case, a 30-year-old man, which has been classified as an imported case, was announced by Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP) yesterday.
According to CHP officials, the man had stayed in the United States and Canada from early last month to early this month, before flying from the Philippines to Hong Kong on Monday.
The man was taken to Queen Mary Hospital from a quarantine hotel after he felt unwell on Monday night, the CHP officials said yesterday.
According to the CHP officials, the man came down with a rash on Tuesday last week, swollen lymph nodes on Friday, and a sore throat and difficulty in swallowing on Monday night – the day he arrived in Hong Kong.
The CHP officials said yesterday that the man had possibly caught the monkeypox virus in the US.
Last night’s SSM statement noted that monkeypox infections have been reported in various non-endemic countries, such as Australia as well as some in Europe, North America and Asia. The statement noted that the World Health Organisation declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) in late July after a continuously rapid increase in the number of monkeypox cases worldwide and the fact that the disease was spreading to more and more countries.
The statement noted that monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the same orthopoxvirus genus as the smallpox virus. The main source of infection is rodents infected with the monkeypox virus, while primates, such as monkeys, chimpanzees, and humans, can also become a source of infection after having caught the virus, the statement said.
The statement said that monkeypox is transmitted to humas through close contact with infected people or animals or virus-contaminated materials such as body fluids, respiratory droplets and bed linen. The statement also said that most of the monkeypox cases reported across the world recently have been related to gay sexual practices.
According to the statement, the incubation period of monkeypox normally ranges from 6 to 13 days. However, the statement said, the disease’s incubation can also range from 5 to 21 days.
The statement noted that the clinical symptoms of monkeypox can range from mild to severe, including a fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain, swollen lymph nodes, chills and fatigue. Most monkeypox patients will come down with a chickenpox-like rash, the statement said, adding that most of those infected with the disease will recover in 14 to 21 days without treatment.
According to the statement, monkeypox’s fatality rates have ranged from three to six percent in African countries, where the disease is endemic. The statement also said that the fatality rates among children, adolescents and immunocompromised individuals are relatively higher. Those who have been inoculated against smallpox are also immune to monkeypox, the statement said.
The statement also noted that the Health Bureau hosted a presentation session in June that aimed to enable the city’s frontline health workers to have a better understanding of monkeypox.
In addition, the statement noted that the Legislative Assembly (AL) enacted an amendment bill in July that adds monkeypox to the special administrative region’s list of notifiable diseases.
The statement also underlined that the Macau Health Bureau is discussing its possible purchase of a monkeypox vaccine with the respective manufacturer.
According to international news reports, there is currently only one biotechnology company that produces an approved vaccine for monkeypox, the Jynneos vaccine developed by Denmark’s Bavarian Nordic.
This undated handout photo taken from the website of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) yesterday shows a box of Jynneos smallpox and monkeypox doses developed by Denmark’s Bavarian Nordic.
