Jakarta, IO – Head of Infectious Disease Research of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), Agus Dwi Susanto, asked doctors to immediately carry out polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on patients who show symptoms of monkeypox such as fever, swollen lymph nodes, and rash.
“Immediately follow up with a PCR test, which is a method of examining the monkeypox virus by detecting the DNA of the virus,” Agus said, as reported by CNN Indonesia, Wednesday (27/7).
If a patient is suspected of having monkeypox symptoms, Agus also asked doctors and health workers to immediately report to the local health office. That way, continued Agus, surveillance steps and other follow-up actions can be quickly carried out.
Agus admitted that so far monkeypox has not been found in Indonesia. But it never hurts to be vigilant considering the disease has been found in several neighbouring countries.