Indonesia Confirms It’s First Monkeypox Case

Jakarta, MINA – The Indonesian Ministry of Health confirmed that one Indonesian citizen was confirmed to have monkeypox (monkeypox). The patient was a 27-year-old man, with a history of travel to the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and France before contracting the infection.

“Currently, the patient is in good condition, not seriously ill, and he has smallpox or rashes on his face, palms and feet. Patients do not need to be hospitalized, but self-isolation is sufficient,” said Ministry of Health spokesman Mohammad Syahril, in an online press statement on Saturday.

Based on the investigation, the patient traveled abroad between July 22 and arrived back in Jakarta on August 8, 2022. He began to experience the initial symptoms of monkeypox on August 11, 2022. After consulting with several health facilities, the patient was admitted to a hospital owned by the Ministry of Health on 18 August and the patient’s PCR test results confirmed positive on the evening of 19 August.

Syahril appealed to the public not to panic because the transmission and fatality of monkeypox were very low compared to COVID-19. As an illustration, there are currently 39,718 confirmed cases of monkeypox worldwide and 12 people died, or less than 0.001 percent of the total cases. In addition, monkeypox transmission is not as easy as COVID-19 through airborne droplets.

“Monkeypox transmission is through close contact,” said Syahril.

The confirmation of the first monkeypox case in Indonesia has been followed up by the Jakarta Health Service together with the Directorate of Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health to carry out surveillance to the community or close contact with patients.

Regarding the PCR examination for monkeypox, Syahril said, currently it can only be carried out in two places, namely at the BKPK Ministry of Health’s national reference laboratory and the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) laboratory.

Currently, in the process of adding ten improved laboratories to carry out the PCR examination. There are also several hospitals that are already able to perform PCR. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)