The female patient, 35, resides in Ho Chi Minh City. She fell ill on September 18 while traveling in Dubai with symptoms of fever, fatigue, chills, muscle aches, headache and a cough, as well as red, itchy bumps on her arms, body, and face. She returned to Vietnam on September 22.
On September 23, she was admitted to the city’s Tu Du Hospital and then transferred to the municipal Hospital of Dermato Venereology, where she was isolated.
Two days later, she tested positive for monkeypox and was transferred to the municipal Hospital for Tropical Diseases for further isolation, treatment and genetic sequencing.
Currently, she is in stable health with no fever.
The ministry has sent an urgent dispatch on prevention measures against monkeypox to authorities in centrally-run cities and provinces given the growing number of infections across the globe. As of September 26, there were 64,561 monkeypox cases logged across 105 countries worldwide.
Under the Prime Minister’s recent dispatch and the ministry’s guidance, localities have been requested to intensify monitoring of possible transmissions at border gates and health clinics, hold training sessions for health staff, and ensure infection prevention and control at testing and medical facilities.
In addition, they have been instructed to update their response plans, hold drills, and prepare resources.
Increasing activities to raise public awareness of preventive measures has also been recommended.
When a positive case of monkeypox is detected, the locality involved is required to conduct contact tracing and quarantine to prevent the epidemic from spreading in the community.
