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Indonesia tightens mpox surveillance following three new suspected cases in Jakarta

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Jakarta Post - September 4, 2024

Jakarta – Authorities have been ramping up mitigation measures against the spread of mpox after three suspected cases were reportedly found in Jakarta, with one case being closely monitored at a health facility and the other two undergoing self-isolation at home.

The Jakarta Health Agency is readying community health centers (Puskesmas) all over the city along with educating medical personnel to handle suspected patients and prevent the virulent disease from spreading.

"All of our health facilities are ready [to handle mpox]. Medical personnel in all Puskesmas are also highly trained to recognize the early symptoms," Jakarta Health Agency head Ani Ruspitawati told journalists on Monday, while giving an assurance that no positive cases were recorded lately.

"We have seen 11 positive cases so far this year, with nine coming from Jakarta and the rest from outside the city, [all of which have recovered]. We did receive reports about more suspected cases recently, which had also been treated and isolated, but we can confirm that they were not infected by mpox".

Formerly known as monkeypox, the viral zoonotic disease is spread through close physical and sexual contact, as well as contaminated objects. Symptoms include muscle aches, fever and large skin lesions.

Mpox outbreaks have been reported since July in several African countries. The disease's newest variant, identified as clade Ib, has been blamed for the recent outbreaks as it is more transmissible and deadlier than the other strains.

The new variant was also identified in several countries outside Africa, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a global health emergency for the viral disease in mid-August.

Indonesia recorded its first mpox case in 2022, with the patient contracting the less virulent clade II variant. Since then, 88 cases have been detected nationwide, 59 of which were in Jakarta.

To this end, Indonesia has been scaling up its efforts to mitigate the spread of the disease through monitoring, testing suspects and vaccination, albeit current vaccination processes only target high-risk populations.

"The most important thing is for the public to remain vigilant [and avoid risky sexual behavior] as the transmission is similar to that of HIV," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said last week, as reported by Antara.

Recently, the government intensified mpox vaccination in Bali, where the second Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) is being held from Sept. 1 to 3. Abdul Kadir Jailani, the Asia-Pacific and African Affairs director general at the Foreign Ministry, explained that this year's IAF would focus on the sectors of food, energy, health and mineral resources.

Minister Budi announced that Indonesia would be donating 5,000 doses of vaccine to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to help the region in curbing the spread of mpox.

"The move is good for diplomacy. By helping our brothers and sisters in Africa, if we need [the vaccines], we can buy more," Budi said on Tuesday on the sidelines of the IAF.

Previously, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, as the country's main port of entry by air, mandated all inbound travelers to register their details with the SatuSehat electronic health pass as a preventive measure against mpox.

The airport's communication and legal senior branch manager, M. Holik Muardi, said all international passengers entering Indonesia must complete the SatuSehat self-declaration form prior to departure.

"This policy is implemented for arrivals from all countries without exception and has been effective since Aug. 29," Holik said on Monday.

The SatuSehat health pass requires the personal information of travelers, including their full name, mobile phone number, date and port of arrival, flight and seat number, as well as other details of their planned journey, including country of departure, transit countries and any countries they have visited up to 21 days before departing for Indonesia.

Once the completed form is submitted, the electronic system generates a barcode containing the traveler's health and travel history for airport officers to scan upon their arrival. The app will also provide a color-coded health risk rating of green, yellow or red to all travelers.

In addition to registering their details with SatuSehat, airport authorities are urging all travelers to practice good hygiene in the airport to prevent the spread of mpox.

"The health and safety of all passengers is our utmost priority, so we have imposed various proactive measures to prevent the spread of mpox in Soekarno-Hatta airport. We are working closely with the [airport's] Health Quarantine Center and other relevant authorities to ensure that all travelers entering Indonesia have undergone comprehensive health screening," said Holik.

Source: https://asianews.network/indonesia-tightens-mpox-surveillance-following-three-new-suspected-cases-in-jakarta

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