As Singapore battles another Covid-19 surge, the country is also experiencing the spread of another disease — monkeypox.
On Wednesday (13 Jul), the Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed Singapore’s second local case of monkeypox.
The 48-year-old man is reportedly in stable condition and is currently warded at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).
With the new case, there have been five monkeypox cases reported in Singapore since June.
According to the health ministry, the 48-year-old tested positive for monkeypox on Wednesday (13 Jul).
This is the second local case of monkeypox infection in Singapore.
The patient, a British national who resides in Singapore, is currently in stable condition at NCID.
Interestingly, MOH shared that the man is not linked to any of the earlier monkeypox cases they announced.
The man first experienced symptoms last Wednesday (6 Jul) in the form of rashes in the perianal region — the area surrounding the anus. He developed a fever five days later on Monday (11 Jul).
He subsequently sought medical care on 13 Jul and was promptly admitted to NCID.
Contact tracing is now ongoing.
Singapore has now reported five infections linked to the latest monkeypox outbreak, comprising two local and three imported cases.
According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) latest update issued on 6 Jul, there are currently 6,027 cases in 59 countries and territories.
There have been three casualties reported thus far.
WHO is closely monitoring the situation. As of now, monkeypox has not yet been classified as a health emergency.
The disease typically presents itself as a mild viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions.
Source: Cleveland Clinic
Infected patients usually experience symptoms like fever, an extensive rash, and swollen lymph nodes.
While monkeypox is a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting between two to four weeks, severe cases do occur.
The fatality ratio currently stands at 3% to 6%, reports WHO.
Having dealt with a global pandemic for more than two years, the emergence of monkeypox cases in Singapore is understandably worrying.
Hopefully, as authorities continue to do their due diligence in contact tracing and containing cases, we will see cases remaining low here.
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Featured image adapted from Emergency Live and NCID.
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