SINGAPORE: Five Singapore residents are among the people quarantined after coming into close contact with Singapore’s first monkeypox patient, said the Ministry of Health in an update on Tuesday (May 14).
“Based on MOH’s investigation and contact tracing thus far, 23 persons have been identified as close contacts of the patient, of whom five are Singapore residents,” the ministry said in response to CNA’s queries.
“The rest are from Britain, India, Ireland, Malaysia, Nigeria and Vietnam, most of whom were at the workshop that the patient had attended.”
As of Monday evening, all of them showed no symptoms, it added.
READ: Singapore confirms first case of monkeypox, patient’s close contacts quarantined
Singapore confirmed last Thursday its first imported case of monkeypox – a 38-year-old Nigerian who had attended a workshop here.
The man is suspected to have contracted the rare virus from eating bush meat at a wedding in Nigeria before flying to Singapore.
READ: Monkeypox case in Singapore: Guests unfazed at Hotel 81 where patient stayed
He is currently being treated in an isolation ward at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.
“He is recovering well, and is in a stable condition,” said the ministry on Tuesday. “He will be ready for discharge once he has recovered and is assessed to be non-infectious.”
Monkeypox can be spread though close contact with the blood, bodily fluids or lesions of infected animals such as rodents and monkeys. The virus can also be contracted by eating meat of such animals that was improperly cooked.
Human-to-human transmission is possible through close contact with an infected person or with objects recently contaminated by their bodily fluids.
Symptoms include lesions, fever, muscle ache, swollen lymph nodes and chills.
READ: First monkeypox case in Singapore: What you need to know about the disease
The Nigerian patient in Singapore developed symptoms on Apr 30. He was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital by ambulance on May 7 and tested positive for the virus the following day.
“The patient was assessed to be a suspect case of monkeypox as he was presenting symptoms that are highly suggestive of monkeypox, had a relevant travel history and reported potential consumption of bush meat,” said MOH.
Outside Africa, monkeypox infections have only been reported in the United States, Britain and Israel, according to the US Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
