Macao’s health authorities are urging residents with a high risk of contracting mpox to get vaccinated against the infectious virus “as soon as possible,” according to an official missive published last week. While the SAR has not reported any cases during the latest outbreak in Africa, the disease has already been detected as far away as Sweden and Pakistan.
Mpox – previously known as monkeypox – is primarily spread by sexual contact between men, though it can also be transmitted through general skin-to-skin contact and mucus droplets. Symptoms are flu-like, with painful skin lesions similar to chicken pox. Mortality rates vary: children and the immunocompromised are most at risk.
Last Wednesday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that the Democratic Republic of Congo’s current mpox outbreak was a public health emergency of international concern. “It’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives,” said WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
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Macao stocked up on mpox vaccines in 2023, according to the Health Bureau (known by its Portuguese initials SSM). Two Macao-based mpox cases were recorded during an outbreak that year. SSM noted that it “continues to urge high-risk residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”
According to a statement from the International Federation of Red Cross on Friday, there have been more than 17,000 suspected or confirmed cases of mpox in at least 12 countries this year – with most cases reported since June in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The fatality rate has been about 3.2 percent.
Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease related to smallpox. It primarily affects rodents and primates in rainforest areas of west and central Africa. It was first detected in humans in 1970.
