HCMC records four more monkeypox cases

By Le Phuong   October 8, 2023 | 07:32 pm PT
HCMC records four more monkeypox cases
Test tube labelled "Monkeypox virus positive" are seen in this illustration taken May 22, 2022. Photo by Reuters/Dado Ruvic
Four people were confirmed to have monkeypox in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday, raising the total number of cases in Vietnam's largest city to 13.

The city's Department of Health said the four patients are being treated at the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases and their conditions are stable.

Vietnam has recorded 15 monkeypox cases, including two in Binh Duong Province that neighbors HCMC.

Vietnam's first two cases of monkeypox were confirmed in October 2022. They contracted the virus during trips to Dubai, and were immediately quarantined upon return to the country.

The rest of the cases were recorded domestically.

Health authorities have been able to confirm the source of transmission of just one domestic patient, a woman in Binh Duong, who got it from her boyfriend in HCMC.

According to HCMC Center for Disease Control, monkeypox is determined to be a group B infectious disease and is no longer an emergency, and therefore, health authorities will not announce individual cases but only report the total number of cases weekly and monthly.

Health experts said it is not easy for monkeypox to spread in the community as the virus is mostly transmitted through sexual contact and those with symptoms of rashes, blister, fever, aches and fatigue should be checked. The incubation period is between 5-21 days.

On May 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that monkeypox is no longer a global public health emergency, almost a year after the threat was raised.

 
 
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