SHARES

The Ministry of Health Singapore reported that a 38-year-old Nigerian man tested positive for Monkeypox, a rare viral disease on Wed (May 8, 2019). Before arriving in Singapore for a workshop the Nigerian was thought to have ingested bushmeat. Bush meat, is the meat of wild animals hunted and sold for food. Generally speaking, it is a popular source of protein in some parts of Africa where meat from domesticated animals are scarce or expensive. In this case, the patient is currently stable, under quarantine in the National Centre for Infectious Disease (NCID).
This being Singapore’s first monkeypox case, here’s an overview of everything you need to know.
What is monkeypox and how does it spread?
First discovered in monkeys kept for research purposes, monkeypox is a rare infection. Quite similar to smallpox, monkeypox originates from the West and Central Africa. Transmission to humans is via wild animals such as rodents and monkeys. In similar manner, the ingestion of infected bush meat could also infect humans.
However, the virus does not spread easily between humans. Infection can result from close contact with infected respiratory tract secretions, skin lesions of an infected person or objects recently contaminated by patient fluids. It also requires prolonged face-to-face contact.
Should we be worried?
As a matter of fact, World Health Organisation (WHO), describes monkeypox is a self-limiting disease with the symptoms lasting from 14 to 21 days. Severe cases occur more commonly among children. Such cases correspond to the extent of virus exposure, patient health status and severity of complications. Under these circumstances, mortality rates are at 1-10% during outbreaks.
What are the signs and symptoms?
Symptoms include fever, intense headache, swelling of the lymph node, back pain, muscle ache, and an intense lack of energy, lasting 14-21 days. Skin rashes appear often beginning on the face and then spread elsewhere on the body. These lesions evolve from lesions with flat bases, to vesicles (small fluid-filled blisters), pustules, followed by crusts.
How to confirm Monkeypox infections and what are the treatments?
Diagnosis is made by taking into consideration the signs and symptoms (i.e fever, rash) and a lab test of skin lesion swab. According to WHO, there are no specific vaccine or treatment in the market. Nevertheless, evidence confirm the smallpox vaccine is 85 percent effective in preventing monkeypox.
What are the risks for travellers?
Travellers traveling to Singapore should be aware of the risk although the risk to the vast majority of travellers is extremely low. This is because the health authorities have quarantined people who came in contact with the patient, and they also show no signs of the infection.
What about prevention?
Advice from the Ministry of Health on what you can do to prevent spreading or in catching the infection:
- Maintain a high standard of personal hygiene. Frequent hand washing after going to the toilet or when hands are soiled are important to observe.
- Avoid direct contact with skin lesions of infected living or dead persons or animals, as well as items used by an infected person.
- Avoid contact with wild animals and consumption of bushmeat.
- If you return from areas affected by monkeypox, seek immediate medical attention if you develop any disease symptoms within three weeks of returning. To summarise, watch out for signs like sudden onset of high fever, swollen lymph nodes, and rash. You should inform your doctor of your recent travel history too.
You can search, find, call, send enquiry or request for appointment with a GP/ Family Doctor on GetDoc:
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Find a GP/Family Doctor in Singapore, on GetDoc
References:
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/moh-confirms-one-imported-case-of-monkeypox-in-singapore
https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/news/newsdetail.aspx?id=22767
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/monkeypox/en/
https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/index.html

by Yashwini Ravindranath
Born & raised in Malaysia, Yashwini earned her M.D. studying in Moscow's Russian National Research Medical University. With an affiliation towards research, all things coffee and the startup ecosystem, she now contributes articles to GetDocSays View all articles by Yashwini Ravindranath.