TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Tuesday (Feb.21) announced the fifth case of monkeypox (Mpox) and 39 contacts have been identified and told to enter 21 days of self-health monitoring.
In a Tuesday press release, the CDC announced the latest Mpox case was a northern Taiwan man in his 30s who had traveled abroad from January to February. In early February, the man developed progressively worse symptoms, including blisters, rashes, sore throat, joint pain, and body aches. After being evaluated by a doctor, he was tested for Mpox.
On Feb. 15, he tested positive for Mpox, and it was determined that he was an imported case. He is currently undergoing treatment in a hospital isolation ward.
A total of 39 recent contacts of the man have been identified. These contacts have been advised about the disease and have started 21 days of self-health monitoring.
According to the CDC, Mpox was listed as a category 2 notifiable communicable disease on June 23, 2022. As of Tuesday, a total of 45 suspected cases have been reported and five cases have been confirmed, all of which were imported.
The imported cases include one from Germany, three from the U.S., and one from Austria. The remaining 40 cases were ruled out as Mpox infections.
The CDC stated that since June 30 last year, there have been 30 countries that have reported more than 100 cases of local or unknown infection sources and have been listed as "Level 2 Alert" countries, meaning that enhanced precautions are recommended. If Taiwanese travel to these countries, they are advised to avoid high-risk settings such as social activities in which they may come in direct contact with strangers.
If they develop symptoms such as a fever, or skin lesions such as rashes, papules, blisters, or pustules when they return to Taiwan, they should proactively inform airline personnel and quarantine officers at airports and ports. They should also seek medical treatment as soon as possible and inform the doctor of their recent travel history and contacts.
In addition, if members of the public go to high-risk areas within Taiwan, they should implement self-protection measures. If they have symptoms, they should also seek medical treatment as soon as possible and actively inform the doctor of their contact history.
The CDC pointed out that since the outbreak of Mpox in the U.K. in mid-May last year, at least 109 countries have reported more than 86,000 cases, of which the Americas (58,367 cases) and Europe (25,849 cases) have the largest number of cases. The top five countries in terms of Mpox cases are the U.S. with 30,193, Brazil with 10,808, Spain with 7,538, France with 4,128, and Colombia with 4,074.
Cases have also been reported in neighboring countries and territories such as Singapore, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and China. The Mpox outbreak in Japan has reportedly recently intensified.
The World Health Organization announced on July 23 last year that the monkeypox outbreak was listed as a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)" and remains so thus far.
The CDC reminded the public that the transmissibility of monkeypox is limited, with transmission more likely to occur through direct skin-to-skin contact. Transmission may also occur from patients to the medical staff caring for them.
