by Dames Alexander Sinaga
JAKARTA, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities in Indonesia have stepped up their efforts to curb the spread of the monkeypox outbreak after the detection of the country's first confirmed case of the virus in the capital Jakarta.
At a hearing with Indonesian lawmakers here on Tuesday, the country's Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that the ministry had already ordered about 2,000 monkeypox vaccines from a biotechnology company in Denmark and was working to procure relevant medicines from the United States.
Earlier, the ministry said that it aimed at importing around 10,000 vaccines to prevent those who have been exposed to monkeypox from developing the disease.
The Southeast Asian country announced its first case of monkeypox almost two weeks ago when an Indonesian man who returned home after international travel early this month tested positive for the virus. The 27-year-old patient reportedly felt feverish with smallpox rashes on his body including his face, palms and feet.
The ministry's spokesperson Mohammad Syahril told local media on Tuesday that the condition of the patient had already improved, but the man still needed to self-isolate at home under the supervision of a medical team. The team had also checked the patient's families and found them not contracting the virus, Syahril added.
A case of monkeypox is diagnosed through a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on a viral swab taken from one or more skin lesions or ulcers. At present, at least 12 laboratories across the country have been provided to conduct such tests.
Until Monday, the ministry had tested 39 suspected cases across the country, 38 of which were found negative.
Monkeypox spreads through close, often skin-to-skin contact, including direct contact with rashes, scabs or bodily fluids from a person with monkeypox, touching surfaces that have been contaminated with the virus or contact with respiratory secretions from someone with the virus.
In response to the potential spread of monkeypox, the Indonesian government has continued to strengthen border control measures with airlines and port authorities urged to watch out for passengers presenting symptoms of the disease.
Minister Sadikin had called on the public to remain calm as most people who were infected with the monkeypox virus recovered within a few weeks without the need for treatment. ■
