Singapore Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook post addressing the emergence of monkeypox cases in over 20 countries.
He said that “in the coming weeks, we should not be surprised if it is detected in Singapore, as our people travel widely and we are a commercial and international hub.”
Here is what he said
Over 200 cases of #monkeypox have been detected in over 20 countries. It is a virus that has likely jumped from animals, such as rodents, to human beings, in certain regions of Africa.
It has generated much interest, including at the World Health Assembly that I recently attended, as the disease is no longer a rare disease confined to certain places in Africa, but is being passed from humans to other humans in many parts of the world.
In other words, the cat is out of the bag.
In the coming weeks, we should not be surprised if it is detected in Singapore, as our people travel widely and we are a commercial and international hub. Thankfully we have in place the necessary protocols and public health measures, triggered by an imported case in 2019.
Monkeypox is very unlikely to be a pandemic like COVID-19. It is transmitted mostly by close physical contact, and not airborne like COVID-19, which transmits more quickly and widely.
For example, if you are very close to someone with rash lesions due to monkeypox, you can be infected.
The incubation period is about 1-3 weeks, and symptoms can last for 2-4 weeks. It usually, but not always, starts with a fever and chills, headache and muscle ache, and swollen lymph nodes. The typical monkeypox rash lesions then develops around the face/mouth or genital areas, before the rash spreads all over the body. It may look like a common chickenpox rash to the layperson and therefore review by a doctor is important. It can cause severe illness and deaths in a small percentage of patients.
Anyone with a new unexplained rash, even if you have not travelled recently, should see a doctor immediately to be examined, so that a diagnosis can be made and early treatment started. Most often it is due to another common disease like chickenpox, but if you have monkeypox, then you can receive appropriate care and prevent spread to people around you.
As for the general public, avoid close contact with individuals who are unwell with fever or have a pox-like rash. It is always good to maintain high standards of personal hygiene at all times, including washing of hands with soap before touching your face.
Images source: Ong Ye Kung Facebook and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control via World Health Organization