Following the detection of the monkeypox virus in some European countries, the Singaproe Ministry of Health said that although there are no new monkeypox cases in Singapore, all medical practitioners here should be vigilant.
MOH added that they will continue to monitor the situation closely, and they spoke to The Straits Times saying that as of 21 May, there have been no monkeypox cases detected here.
The only case of monkeypox in Singapore was back in 8 May 2019, which was an imported case from Nigeria.
The virus is an endemic in some areas of central and west Africa, with about 9 European countries also detecting the virus, such as the US, Australia and the UK.
According to MOH, monkeypox is a rare disease that is primarily transmitted from animals to humans and it is caused by a virus.
And although inter-human transmission of the virus is possible, it is however limited.
Infectious diseases experts said that although it wouldn’t be surprising for cases of the monkeypox virus to appear in Singapore, there shouldn’t be a cause for concern as the spread can be controlled through contact tracing, isolating the infected and quarantining of their contacts.