The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) has again identified suspects or residents suspected of being exposed monkey pox (monkeypox) in Indonesia. The resident is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Jakarta Central Java.
Ministry of Health spokesman Mohammad Syahril said the patient was a 55-year-old male. Syahril said the patient was not a foreign traveler (PPLN).
“A 55-year-old man, not a PPLN, is a monkeypox suspect and is currently being isolated in a private hospital in Central Java,” Syahril said when contacted, Wednesday (3/8).
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Syahril continued, this monkeypox suspect patient will be examined further to confirm his illness. At the same time, he emphasized that this case has not been confirmed so that until now there have been no confirmed cases, alias monkeypox cases are still nil in Indonesia.
“A PCR lab examination will be carried out to confirm it. It could be normal smallpox or other diseases, not monkeypox,” said Syahril.
Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin at the end of last July had also reported at least nine suspected monkeypox patients in Indonesia. However, all the suspects tested negative for monkeypox after going through the examination.
The Ministry of Health previously stated that it would strengthen and increase early detection or surveillance of monkeypox in gay groups in Indonesia. Surveillance will be carried out in collaboration with a number of parties, including related non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Director General of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) of the Ministry of Health, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, added that the mitigation effort was carried out due to reports from a number of countries, most of those infected with monkeypox were gay men.
Indonesia Asked to Be Alert
The Executive Board of the Indonesian Doctors Association (PB IDI) formed the Monkeypox Task Force (Satgas) after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency some time ago.
In addition, in recent days there have been findings of cases of death in monkeypox patients in a number of countries outside Africa such as Brazil, Spain, and India. IDI assessed that this effort was a form of vigilance against the potential emergence of monkeypox in Indonesia.
“Just as with the Covid-19 pandemic, and we have been heavily warned by the WHO regarding Monkeypox, we from IDI have also formed a special Monkeypox Task Force,” said PB IDI Chairperson M. Adib Khumaidi in an online event, Tuesday (2/8). ) then.
The Monkeypox Task Force consists of a number of other professional organizations that will be tasked with monitoring and detecting the potential for Monkeypox to occur in Indonesia. He also urged the government to strengthen mitigation efforts in preventing cases of monkeypox or monkeypox in Indonesia.
IDI then asked the government to expand the scope of the inspection or screening area at the entrance to Indonesia.
Adib also requested that the government seek to improve the capabilities of network laboratories in molecular diagnostics of specimens of patients suspected of suffering from Monkeypox in accordance with WHO recommendations. As well as increasing the ability to identify close contacts in patients with suspected and probable monkeypox.
“Supervise travelers through temperature observation, observation of signs and symptoms. Travelers with fever conditions should be examined directly by the doctor on duty at the port, airport, or PLBDN,” he said.
(khr/DAL)
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