As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the world, there have been global concerns about the recent increase in monkeypox infections in several countries. The monkeypox virus is more commonly reported in West and Central Africa, but it has found its way to infect many others worldwide.
Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) just confirmed the first imported case of the monkeypox infection. The Southeast Asian nation last recorded a monkeypox case in 2019 when a Nigerian man tested positive.
First Monkeypox Case in Singapore
Singaporean news outlet Today reported that a 42-year-old British flight attendant who was in Singapore between June 15-17 and again on Sunday, June 19, who flew in and out of the country, tested positive for the virus and is the first imported monkeypox case in Singapore after three years.
The patient first experienced symptoms of headache a day before he arrived in Singapore and had a fever two days later. These symptoms further developed into skin rashes by Sunday. He sought medical attention via teleconsultation on the night of June 19 and was tested on Monday, June 20, in which they found out that he had caught the monkeypox virus.
He is now staying at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and doctors said that the patient is in stable condition. Authorities are now conducting contact tracing among his close contacts.
Incubation Period of Monkeypox
The Minister of Health is doing contact tracing for the affected flights and when the patient stayed in Singapore, The Straits Times reported. They noted that the patient largely remained in his hotel room except for visiting a massage establishment and eating at three restaurants on June 16.
The ministry added that the risk of transmission to visitors to these locations is generally low since the virus can only be transmitted through close physical and prolonged contact. They identified those establishments and reached out to 13 close contacts who are now in quarantine for at least 21 days.
A study titled "The Incubation Period for Monkeypox Cases Confirmed in the Netherlands, May 2022" that is yet to be peer-reviewed, suggests that the average monkeypox incubation period in the ongoing outbreak is 8.5 days, which ranges from 4 to 17 days. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends between 5 to 21 days.
The Dutch researchers noted that the incubation period means the time from exposure to the onset of symptoms, which gives clues if someone is infectious or not. According to the University of Minnesota's CIDRAP, the study in the preprint server medRxiv is based on 18 lab-confirmed cases in the Netherlands in which all involved patients were between the ages of 23 to 64.
Researchers concluded that the estimated percentage of monkeypox would develop symptoms after 21 days is about 2%. Therefore, suspected cases must be in quarantine for 21 days. Although, continued monitoring must be implemented if necessary as outbreaks grow and cases are being infected from different transmission routes.
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