Indonesia Detects First Case of Monkeypox Virus

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia has recorded its first case of monkeypox in a 27-year-old man who returned from traveling overseas, the country’s health ministry said on Saturday, Aug. 20.

The World Health Organization designated the outbreak of the virus an emergency last month -- something it reserves for diseases of highest concern.

Indonesian health ministry spokesperson Mohammad Syahril said the patient had a “high awareness and knowledge of the disease”.

“So when he got the symptoms, he immediately checked it (with) the doctor. The result came (back) positive within a day,” Syahril told reporters, adding that the man was now in isolation in the capital Jakarta.

Also read: Indonesia to Launch Homegrown Covid-19 Vaccine Soon

Symptoms of monkeypox -- which is endemic in parts of Central and Western Africa -- include lesions, fever, muscle ache, and chills. It has only been fatal in rare cases.

The patient arrived in Indonesia on Aug. 8 and developed symptoms of fever and rashes a week later.

The ministry spokesperson declined to identify the country from where the man had traveled to Indonesia.

Also read: Philippines Reports First Case of Monkeypox

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Singapore has confirmed more than a dozen cases and the Philippines and Thailand have also recorded their first cases. The United States has recorded thousands of cases.