Johor Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar said Johor is safe from the recent monkeypox case in Singapore and the health authorities are monitoring the situation closely. — Picture by Ben Tan
JOHOR BARU, May 10 — The Johor state government has assured the public that the state is safe from monkeypox which was detected in a foreigner in neighbouring Singapore.
State Health, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar assured Johoreans that the state health authorities are monitoring the situation closely.
“There is no cause for alarm in Johor as we found that human infections from monkeypox are rare and it is mainly through the digestion of infected bush meats such as monkey, rodents and bats.
“The state health authorities have also been tasked with monitoring health clinics if there are any patients suffering from monkeypox infections,” said Mohd Khuzzan when contacted by Malay Mail today.
Yesterday it was reported that the Singapore Ministry of Health has confirmed one imported case of monkeypox infection.
The patient is a 38-year-old Nigerian national who arrived in Singapore alone on April 28, and was tested positive for monkeypox on May 8.
He is currently warded in isolation at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID), and his condition is stable.
The patient reported that prior to his arrival in Singapore, he had attended a wedding in Nigeria, where he may have consumed bush meat, which could be a source of transmission of the monkeypox virus.
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection, usually found in parts of Africa and tropical rainforests, that does not spread easily between people. It is usually a mild, self-limiting illness and most people recover within a few weeks.
Initial symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, then spreading to other parts of the body. The rash changes and goes through different stages before finally forming a scab, which later falls off.
The infection can be spread when someone is in close contact with an infected person, but there is a very low risk of transmission to the public.