Vietnam records second monkeypox case

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health (HCMC) reported on October 20 that a woman who returned from Dubai tested positive for monkeypox, making it the second recorded case in Vietnam.

The 38-year-old woman from the northern province of Tuyen Quang visited Dubai from September 29 to October 18. She has shown symptoms of fever, nausea and blisters since October 11.

The woman, and the first monkeypox patient from Vietnam, who had recovered from the disease, stayed together in the same accommodation in Dubai. When the first patient learned of similar symptoms in her friend, she contacted the HCMC Center for Disease Control (HCDC) for support.

Vietnam's first monkeypox patient was discharged from the hospital on October 14. Photo: The HCMC Department of Health

HCDC and the medical team at the city's Tan Son Nhat International Airport quarantined the woman upon arrival at the airport for testing. On October 19, the PCR test result showed that the patient was positive for monkeypox.

She was then transferred to HCMC's Hospital for Tropical Diseases for diagnosis and treatment. The plane in which the patient was traveling was also disinfected. HCDC will continue to trace people who may have been in close contact with the patient to minimize the risk of contagion.

The first case of monkeypox in Vietnam was a 35-year-old woman who displayed the disease’s symptoms from September 18 while she was in Dubai. She was confirmed infected with monkeypox in HCMC after returning on September 22. Viral genome sequencing revealed that she was infected with a monkeypox strain that has circulated throughout many regions of the world since the beginning of 2022.

The health sector has monitoredpeople arriving in country from areas with monkeypox outbreaks. Suspected carriers will be quarantined.

The sector has also ordered strict health quarantine for human, vehicles and goods moving through the borders and airports, especially Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCMC.

On July 23, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared monkeypox a global health emergency due to its rapid transmission and the risk of its spread further to other countries.

According to the WHO report, as of mid-October, there have been more than 68,000 cases in more than 100 countries and territories discovered to have monkeypox cases, and 25 deaths have been reported. Typical symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, muscle pain, skin lesions, and rashes. It is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids or lesions.