Second monkeypox case poses no risk of community transmission: Health official
As the second monkeypox patient was put under quarantine upon her arrival at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, she did not come into contact with anyone in the community, hence a zero risk of community infection, a health official confirmed.
Isolation area for monkeypox patients at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) – As the second monkeypox patient was put under quarantine upon her arrival at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, she did not comeinto contact with anyone in the community, hence a zero risk of communityinfection, a health official confirmed.
At a regular press conference on October 20 by the municipal steering board for pandemic prevention, control and economic recovery, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Disease Control (HCDC) Nguyen Hong Tam also said there is not enough information to confirm that the two patients were in contact.
The second case is a 38-year-old resident of the northern province ofTuyen Quang, who visited Dubai from September 29 to October 18. Her symptomssuch as fever, nausea and blisters started on October 11.
She and the first monkeypox patient in Vietnam, who hasrecovered, lived in the same accommodation in Dubai but in different periods oftime as the latter visited the UAE city between July and September 22.
After first receiving the information about the secondpatient, the HCDC and Tan Son Nhat Airport medical team took her intoquarantine right after her arrival at the airport for testing. She was thentaken to the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases for diagnosis andtreatment. The plane she was on was also disinfected.
According to the official, the municipal options in responseto the virus remain the same, with communications activities intensified toraise public awareness of giving prompt notifications to the authorities whendetecting suspicious symptoms./.
The Ministry of Health has recommended people to follow six measures to protect themselves from monkeypox, as Vietnam announced the first case of the disease on October 3.
The first patient with monkeypox in Vietnam has tested negative to the virus, while people with close contacts with her have shown no suspected symptoms so far.
The first patient with monkeypox in Vietnam was discharged from hospital on October 14 after three weeks of treatment, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
A woman returning from Dubai has tested positive for monkeypox, making her the second case detected in Vietnam, reported the Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Health on October 20.
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After more than three weeks of intensive treatment, the patient's pneumonia improved, breathing stabilised, sedation was reduced, and the breathing tube was removed. He is now conscious, able to eat orally, and in recovery.
Isolation area for monkeypox patients at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA) 
