Mpox outbreak in Africa: Immediate risk to Singapore is low, says Health Ministry

SINGAPORE: Following the mpox outbreak in parts of Africa, Singapore’s Health Ministry said the immediate public health risk to the country is low, adding that precautionary measures are in place.
“While there is (a) cross-border spread of a potentially more severe mpox Clade I in parts of Central and East Africa, the outbreak has thus far remained within the African continent, with no reported cases of Clade I exported out of the African continent,” the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Thursday (Aug 15).
“To date, all mpox infections detected in Singapore have been the milder Clade II infections, mostly during the 2022-2023 global outbreak.”
Ten mpox cases were detected in Singapore as of Jul 27 this year. There were 32 cases in 2023.
The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to neighbouring countries.
More than 15,000 mpox cases and 461 deaths have been reported on the African continent so far this year, representing a 160 per cent increase from the same period last year.
MOH said Singapore’s healthcare system has the capability to effectively diagnose and manage mpox infections.
“We have informed all medical practitioners and healthcare institutions to be vigilant in detecting and reporting all mpox cases, including those suspected of Clade I infections,” the ministry said.
All travellers have also been required to report mpox-related symptoms like fever or rash, as well as their travel history, through the SG Arrival Card to facilitate the early detection of cases at Singapore’s borders.
Suspected Clade I cases will be isolated in hospitals. Close contacts of confirmed cases will be quarantined and monitored for up to 21 days from the date of last exposure, MOH added.
The infectious disease, formerly known as monkeypox, was first detected in humans in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970.
The virus is transmitted from human to human through large respiratory droplets or body fluids, especially from rashes and sores and intimate contact including hugging, kissing and sexual intercourse.
Symptoms include fever, headaches, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions.
The disease rose to greater prominence in May 2022, when a new less deadly strain spread across the world. The WHO declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in July 2022 which lasted until May 2023.
In Singapore, mpox was made a legally notifiable disease in June 2022.