https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3192823/china-records-first-monkeypox-case?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=article&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1663339580
The infected patient, who had arrived in Chongqing from overseas, developed symptoms while in Covid quarantine
China has been on high alert for the disease since it started spreading rapidly in Europe and the Americas
- The infected patient, who had arrived in Chongqing from overseas, developed symptoms while in Covid quarantine
- China has been on high alert for the disease since it started spreading rapidly in Europe and the Americas earlier this year
China has detected its first case of monkeypox in the southwestern city of Chongqing, but the risk of community transmission is very low, the local health authority said.
Chongqing’s health commission said the patient, whose age and sex have not been released, had flown to the city from overseas. They developed symptoms, including a rash, while in quarantine for Covid-19.
Lab results from both the Chongqing and the national centre for disease control and prevention showed the patient was infected with the monkeypox virus. An expert panel from the central government confirmed the diagnosis on Friday.
The patient is being treated in isolation at a designated hospital and is in a stable condition, according to the commission. All close contacts are under isolation for medical observation, though it did not give details of those contacts.
“Experts concluded that the patient had been isolated in quarantine upon entry into Chongqing and had no record of social activities. The risk of … an epidemic is low,” the statement said.
The commission advised inbound travellers from countries with reported monkeypox cases to carry out health monitoring and contact the health authorities if they had contact with patients. Those who are travelling to such countries need to avoid sharing items with monkeypox patients and avoid sexual contact with suspected cases.
Monkeypox is a viral disease that occurs mainly in the tropical rainforest regions of central and western Africa, with symptoms that can last two to four weeks.
It has been around in those regions for decades but in early May, Britain reported confirmed cases of monkeypox, followed by more countries in Europe and the Americas.
The rapid spread of a formerly endemic disease prompted the World Health Organization to declare the outbreak a public health emergency in July.
China has been on high alert for possible imported cases of monkeypox since it started spreading.
In June, the Chinese CDC said all cities should keep watch for symptoms – the most visible of which is a rash – among inbound travellers, especially those who have been in a country where monkeypox cases were reported in the past 21 days.
A month later China’s customs authority called on travellers coming into China who may have been exposed to monkeypox to step forward to declare it.
