An official from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health confirmed on Monday morning that the city recorded its first case of monkeypox through epidemiological surveillance.

Information about the case has been submitted to the Ministry of Health, which is expected to make an official announcement later on Monday.

The Ho Chi Minh City health department said it was coordinating with relevant agencies to strengthen surveillance to detect cases in an early manner and prevent the disease from spreading.

The health department previously issued a temporary guidance on the prevention and control of monkeypox, advising residents to report to local medical centers when they have symptoms such as fever of over 38 degrees Celsius, swollen lymph nodes, headache, muscle pain, back pain, and fatigue.

Health workers will collect information from the cases and make an epidemiological investigation form within 21 days.

Suspected patients will be instructed on how to quarantine and monitor their health at home.

They should go to the city’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases if their symptoms worsen.

They must wear a face mask and avoid traveling to the hospital by public transportation.

Regarding confirmed cases, the patient will be quarantined and treated at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

The Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control will make a list of people who came into close contact with the confirmed cases and monitor their conditions according to regulations.

According to the Ministry of Health, monkeypox is not a new disease and was first recorded in 1958 in monkeys raised for research.

The first case in humans was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has since become endemic in central and western Africa.

In 2003, the first outbreak outside of Africa occurred in the United States and was associated with prairie dogs.

Monekypox was then sporadically reported among travelers from Nigeria to Israel in October 2003, to the UK in September 2018, December 2019 and May 2021, to Singapore in May 2019, and to the U.S. in July and November 2021.

The disease has developed abnormally since May as it was recorded in 12 European countries.

This was the first time that outbreaks had been recorded in this region without any links to previous endemic areas.

There has been a continuous increase in the number of monekypox cases and the number of countries and territories that have recorded the disease.

On July 23, 2022, the World Health Organization declared this disease an international public health emergency.

As of August 15, more than 35,000 cases of monkeypox had been recorded in 92 countries, including 12 deaths.

A number of countries and territories close to Vietnam such as Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, China, and Japan have recorded imported cases.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!