Macau reports first monkeypox case

Macau has reported the first case of monkeypox in the city, urging people at high risk to be vaccinated against the disease.

The patient is a 29-year-old local male resident, who recently traveled to Hong Kong and Zhuhai, the Health Bureau said late Tuesday.

On Sept. 16, he had a fever, and on Sept. 19, he presented with symptoms such as swollen lymph glands, rashes and blisters on his body. On Sept. 17, 18, and 20 he went to Kiang Wu Hospital, but the symptoms did not improve. 

On Sept. 25th, he went to the Emergency Department of the Conde de São Januário, and was administered the monkeypox virus nucleic acid test using a swab with pustular fluid, which was declared positive, and he was then diagnosed with monkeypox.

The man is currently in a stable condition and receiving treatment in a local hospital, the bureau said.

The bureau warned against a rising risk of transmission of the disease, calling on the public to avoid high-risk sexual behaviors and seek medical treatment as soon as symptoms develop.

Residents who are evaluated by doctors to have a high risk of exposure to the disease can be vaccinated for free. Non-residents of this kind can pay to get vaccinated, it added.

Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick.

The virus can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with someone who is infectious, and also by contact with contaminated materials, or infected animals.

Monkeypox symptoms include an unexplained acute rash and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, acute onset of fever, headaches, muscle pain and body aches and low energy.  MDT/Xinhua