Second case of monkeypox detected in Binh Duong

Binh Duong Province Department of Health recorded a 19-year-old man in Thuan An City infected with monkeypox from a 22-year-old male patient living in Ho Chi Minh City.

On the afternoon of October 6, Mr. Huynh Minh Chin, Deputy Director of the Department of Health of Binh Duong province, said that after his friend (a 22-year-old man) got sick, this person went to Becamex International Hospital for examination and the test result was positive for monkeypox. The patient is being isolated and treated at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Thuan An City Medical Center.

This is the second monkeypox case in Binh Duong, the seventh in the country, and the second domestic infection case with an identified source of infection. The first monkeypox case in Binh Duong was a 22-year-old woman who was also identified as having been infected domestically by her boyfriend. The boyfriend (the first domestic case) and three other patients have yet to identify the source of infection.

After discovering the second case in the area, the Binh Duong Department of Health urgently worked with the Thuan An City Medical Center to take measures to prevent the disease from spreading to the community. All people who had close contact with the patient from September 5th to now were investigated for epidemiology and recommended to be monitored to thoroughly handle the pathogen.

Authorities did not release how many people had close contact with the patient.

Meanwhile, the 22-year-old female patient's health has stabilized after intensive treatment and is expected to be discharged on October 10.

Last year, Ho Chi Minh City recorded its first two cases of monkeypox. They were infected abroad and immediately quarantined upon returning home, so they did not spread to the community.

Currently, medical experts believe that the locally transmitted monkeypox cases prove that the disease has entered Vietnam and is circulating in the community, silently spreading through many generations, in the context of the number of new cases increasing sharply in Thailand and China.

Monkeypox is spread from person to person through close contact with a person with a monkeypox rash, including face-to-face, skin-to-skin, mouth-to-mouth, or mouth-to-skin contact, including sexual contact.

Prevent disease by covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. Wash your hands regularly with soap and clean water or an antiseptic solution. Do not spit indiscriminately in public places. People with symptoms of acute rash of unknown cause accompanied by one or more suspicious symptoms should contact a medical facility for timely monitoring and advice. This person should also proactively self-isolate and avoid sexual intercourse.

Avoid close contact with people with monkeypox and direct contact with wounds, body fluids, droplets and objects and utensils contaminated with the disease. In case there is someone in your residence or workplace who is infected or suspected of being infected, you need to notify the health authority for timely advice and treatment, do not self-treat.

People traveling to countries with monkeypox outbreaks should avoid contact with mammals such as rodents, marsupials, and primates that may harbor the monkeypox virus. When returning to Vietnam, proactively report to local health authorities for monitoring.

The monkeypox outbreak began in May 2022, appearing in countries where the virus had never circulated before, such as the US, UK, Sweden, Belgium, Thailand, India, Spain, etc. To date, the total number of infections worldwide is more than 90,000, mainly men who have sex with men. The mortality rate from monkeypox is 0-11% and is higher in young children. On July 23, 2022, WHO declared monkeypox an international public health emergency, classified as a dangerous infectious disease.

Currently, Vietnam does not have a vaccine or specific medicine for monkeypox, only a smallpox vaccine.

Phuoc Tuan

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