Jakarta, IO – Monkey pox cases have been on the rise in Indonesia. The Health Ministry (Kemenkes) confirmed that the majority of the patients are residents of Jakarta.
Kemenkes spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said this finding was the second positive case of monkey pox in the country, per Kompas, Wednesday (18/10).
“There is one case. So the total cases of monkey pox in Indonesia are two cases,” said Nadia.
A previous case of monkey pox was discovered in Jakarta on August 20, 2022. Nadia explained that the patient was a 26 year old man. The patient was confirmed to display several symptoms of monkey pox.
“The symptoms are fever, there are lesions on the skin, hands and feet like smallpox scabs, pain and swollen lymph nodes,” he said.
Nadia said that currently the ministry is still investigating further regarding the patient’s travel history abroad. This is because monkey pox cases found in Indonesia are generally “imported” cases.
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However, this figure is very small compared to the 90,618 confirmed cases of monkey pox worldwide which has infected 115 countries such as the US, Japan and China.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated diseases transmitted from animals as a global health emergency or Public Health Emergency International Concern (PHEIC). (un)