VIETNAM – HEALTH: Vietnam’s first presumed monkeypox patient tests negative

Vietnam’s first suspected monkeypox virus patient has tested negative following 12 days of treatment, the director of Ho Chi Minh City’s Tropical Diseases Hospital has said.

The 35-year-old woman no longer has a fever and her blisters are starting to heal, said Le Manh Hung, director of the hospital.

All of the patient’s close contacts since her return to Vietnam have had no potential symptoms of monkeypox.

The woman experienced symptoms including fatigue, chills, muscle pain, headache and cough, as well as rashes on several parts of her body from September 18 while traveling in Dubai. His infection with the monkeypox virus was confirmed in Ho Chi Minh City following his return on September 22. Viral genome sequencing revealed that she had been infected with a strain of monkeypox that has been circulating in many parts of the world since the start of the year.

Hung said the disease might not spread in the community, which matches other reports around the world that monkeypox is not easily transmitted in the community. Most people recover following 10 to 14 days and stop being contagious following 21 days, he added.

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have rolled out measures to monitor entrances to detect and prevent monkeypox, the municipal health department said.

As of Monday, more than 68,000 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in 106 countries and territories worldwide. 25 deaths were recorded.