As mpox spreads ever closer to Singapore, the authorities are stepping up surveillance against the disease at our borders.
Mpox screening will now take place at Changi and Seletar airports, as well as our sea checkpoints, they said.
Source: Changi Airport on Facebook
In a news release on Thursday (22 Aug) night, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said temperature and visual screening will be conducted at both airports from Friday (23 Aug).
The “precautionary measures” will be targeted at inbound travellers and crew arriving in Singapore on flights from “places which may be exposed to the risk of mpox outbreaks”.
Source: Changi Airport on Facebook
Health advisories have also been put up at airports so that travellers will take the “necessary personal precautions to avoid being infected”.
Currently, all arriving travellers are already required to report mpox-related symptoms and travel history via the SG Arrival Card.
As for Singapore’s sea checkpoints, similar screening measures will be implemented, MOH said.
These will be for crew and passengers arriving on ships from mpox-affected areas.
Travellers are advised to take precautions, especially if they are travelling to and from affected countries, which include:
Travellers who have symptoms compatible with mpox, e.g. fever and/or rash, will be referred for medical assessment.
Singapore remains safe so far, with no cases of the mpox Clade I variant detected here as of 22 Aug.
However, 13 confirmed cases of the Clade II variant have been reported this year.
According to MOH’s weekly infectious disease bulletin, the most recent Clade II case was detected sometime in epidemiological week 33, i.e. between 11 and 17 Aug.
Source: Ministry of Health
Clade II is the less severe variant of mpox that was behind an outbreak in 2022.
Thus far, the Clade I outbreak has been “generally confined” to Africa, said MOH, which is monitoring the global situation very closely.
Outside of Africa, only two cases of Clade I have been reported — in Sweden and Thailand.
The case in Thailand was reported by Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (DDH) on Thursday (22 Aug) in a statement on its website.
It said the 66-year-old European man had arrived in Thailand on 14 Aug from an African country where the disease is spreading.
He fell sick with a fever on 15 Aug and was admitted to hospital, where tests showed the strain he had been infected with was not Clade II. It was later confirmed to be Clade Ib.
Source: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on Unsplash
The case in Thailand is the second Clade I case found outside Africa, with the case in Sweden reported on 15 Aug.
Local spread has not yet been reported in these two countries, Singapore’s MOH said.
MOH noted that Singapore currently implements a number of precautionary measures to detect and manage mpox cases.
For example, medical practitioners must notify the ministry of all suspect mpox cases, who will be isolated in hospital for further testing.
Contact tracing will be conducted for all confirmed cases, whose contacts will be informed to monitor their health.
Mpox vaccination will be offered only to close contacts to reduce their risk of infection, but population-wide vaccination is not recommended, MOH said, adding:
MOH is monitoring the situation closely and will adjust our vaccination strategy accordingly.
Singapore residents are advised to exercise personal responsibility, especially when symptomatic, and practise good personal hygiene as these remain effective at reducing the risk of transmission.
Also read: What is mpox & should S’poreans be worried about infections?
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Featured image adapted from Changi Airport on Facebook.
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