India: Ministry of Health: There were 88 cases of monkeypox on August 17 in RI | India news

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) announced that there were 88 cases of monkey pox (Mpox) in Indonesia based on the latest confirmed data on Saturday, August 17.

The Health Ministry’s Acting Director of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P), Yudhi Pramono, said 87 cases were declared cured. Regarding the weekly trend of confirmed Mpox cases in Indonesia from 2022 to 2024, the period with the most cases occurred in October 2023.

“Of these 54 cases, all are Clade IIB variants. Most of Clade II spread the Mpox outbreak in 2022 so far with lower deaths and it is transmitted mostly from sexual contact,” said Yudhi in a statement received in Jakarta, Monday.

Regarding the cases, he said, 59 were distributed across DKI Jakarta, 13 in West Java, 9 in Banten, 3 in East Java, 3 in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), and 1 in the Riau Islands (Kepri).

Yudhi said 54 of the 88 cases met the criteria for Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) to confirm a virus variant.

At that time he said that there were two Clade Monkeypox (Mpox) viruses, namely Clade I originating from Central Africa (Congo Basin) with subclade 1a. According to him, subclade 1a has a higher mortality rate (CFR) than other clades and is transmitted through several modes of transmission.

At the same time, he continued, subclade 1b is transmitted mainly from sexual contact with a CFR of 11 percent.

Unlike Clade I, he said, Clade II comes from West Africa with subclades IIa and IIb with a CFR of 3.6 percent. Clade II has a low CFR with cases mostly originating from sexual contact during the 2022 outbreak.

Mpox is transmitted through direct contact with a purulent rash on the skin, including during sexual intercourse. He said that there is a great risk in sexual relations between men to transmit the disease.

He also appealed to the public to use medical masks if they feel sick. If symptoms such as a purulent rash or scab appear on the skin, go immediately to the nearest health center, clinic or hospital.

The Ministry of Health has made several prevention efforts, including a survey in all health facilities, conducting epidemiological studies with the HIV / AIDS community and partners, establishing a test- 12 national reference scales for Mpox tests, and doing WGS tests.

A doctor from the Indonesian Association of Dermatology and Venereology Specialists (PERDOSKI) Prasetyadi Mawardi said that the Mpox Clade I variants, both 1a and 1b, have not been found in Indonesia. From 2022 until now the variant found in Indonesia is the Clade II variant.

“Clade I actually matches the shadows of the numbers death rate –“It’s relatively higher than Clade II, and then this variation is usually caused by close contact, not just sexual contact,” he said.

For this reason, Prasetyadi appealed to anyone who suspects they are infected with Mpox and has symptoms not to press or scratch the lesions on the skin, and it was they should leave the wounds alone. This is because these wounds, whether wet or dry, are at risk of transmitting the virus.

“Patients should also not share personal items such as towels and clothes. If there are lumps or nodules and they hurt or bleed, they should give them medicine immediately,” he said.