China reports first monkeypox case

The World Health Organisation on July 23 declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of global concern after cases were detected in countries where the infection is not endemic such as Europe and the US

BEIJING: China has detected its first monkeypox infection in the southwestern city of Chongqing in a patient quarantined for Covid-19, but the risk of community transmission is low, state media reports said.

Vials of single doses of the Jynneos vaccine for monkeypox are seen from a cooler at a vaccinations site in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP)

“The patient was an international arrival and the monkeypox was found during Covid-19 quarantine,” one report said, citing Chongqing health authorities.

The patient’s details including sex and age have not been released with the authorities only saying the person had flown in from overseas.

“The patient is being treated in isolation at a designated hospital and is in a stable condition,” the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing a statement from the Chongqing health commission, adding that close contacts of the patient are under isolation for medical observation.

“Experts concluded that the patient had been isolated in quarantine upon entry into Chongqing and had no record of social activities. The risk of … an epidemic is low,” the statement, as per SCMP, said.

The World Health Organisation on July 23 declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of global concern after cases were detected in countries where the infection is not endemic such as Europe and the US.

Hong Kong, governed by Beijing as a special administrative region, reported its first monkeypox case on September 6 in an international traveller flying from the Philippines, state-run China Daily reported.

State media reports said Chinese officials have formulated diagnosis and treatment besides prevention and control guidelines against the disease since the outbreak of the disease in other countries as precautionary measures.

Chinese experts had earlier told state media that it was only a matter of time before the mainland would detect monkeypox cases but “…given its limited routes and speed of transmission, the disease is unlikely to cause major outbreaks”.