Taiwan yesterday reported its first case of monkeypox, a man who recently returned from Germany.
On Monday, four days after his return, the man developed a fever, a sore throat, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes and a rash, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said in a statement.
He sought medical attention two days later, and his case was reported to the CDC as a suspected monkeypox infection, the CDC said, adding that his test results returned earlier yesterday.
Photo: Reuters
The man, who had been studying in Germany, is quarantining in hospital, the agency said.
The health conditions of five listed contacts — three medical workers and two of his relatives — are being monitored, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsaing (莊人祥) said.
The CDC is to notify the WHO of the nation’s first recorded case of monkeypox, he said.
The CDC on Thursday designated monkeypox a category 2 communicable disease, citing its global spread.
The designation means that physicians are required to report confirmed or suspected cases to the CDC within 24 hours. Other category 2 communicable diseases are dengue fever, Zika fever, typhoid fever, measles and Chikungunya fever.
The CDC on Thursday said it had ruled out another suspected monkeypox case of a man in his 60s that was reported last week.
The disease is caused by the monkeypox virus, which can spread through close contact with an infected animal or person, and transmission occurs through direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, body fluids or materials contaminated with the virus.
Since the UK first reported monkeypox cases in the middle of last month, at least 3,598 cases have been confirmed in 50 states around the world, mostly in Europe and the Americas, the CDC said.
Taiwan is the third Asian country that has reported the disease, following cases in Singapore and South Korea, the CDC said.
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