https://www.scmp.com/rss/512652/feed Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease typically spread by contact with wild animals that occurs mostly in central and western Africa. It was called monkeypox because it was first identified in laboratory monkeys, but it typically circulates in small rodents, and can be transmitted to humans, with vectors including bushmeat, an animal bite or scratch, body fluids, contaminated objects, or close contact with an infected person. In 2024, an mpox outbreak in Africa was declared a... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Kamala Thiagarajan Kamala Thiagarajan In a year already brimming with threats of war and unrest, 2026 has brought some health scares for Asia. In January, two cases of the deadly Nipah virus emerged among healthcare workers, both nurses, in West Bengal, India. One of the two nurses has since died. The Nipah virus has one of the highest fatality rates of any known viral disease, typically ranging from 40 to 75 per cent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since 1998, when the first outbreak of the disease was recorded... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3344544/nipah-and-mpox-expose-asias-urgent-need-stronger-disease-surveillance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3344544/nipah-and-mpox-expose-asias-urgent-need-stronger-disease-surveillance?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 21:30:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Monday it had identified a new strain of the mpox virus in England in a person who had recently travelled to Asia. “Our genomic testing has enabled us to detect this new mpox strain,” said Katy Sinka from the UKHSA, a government agency responsible for preventing and controlling the spread of infectious diseases. The agency said it would continue to “assess the significance of the strain”, which had elements of both mpox subtypes: the more severe... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335659/new-mpox-strain-found-uk-after-travel-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3335659/new-mpox-strain-found-uk-after-travel-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2025 16:00:10 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg The Democratic Republic of Congo has declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in south-central Kasai province after 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, including four health workers, were reported. The outbreak has been confirmed in Bulape and Mweka health zones, with patients presenting symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhea and hemorrhage. Samples tested this week at the National Institute of Biomedical Research in Kinshasa identified the strain as Ebola Zaire, the World Health... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3324441/new-ebola-outbreak-dr-congo-kills-15-prompting-who-response?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3324441/new-ebola-outbreak-dr-congo-kills-15-prompting-who-response?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 05:32:50 +0000 Health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo expect to know within days the cause of an infectious disease outbreak termed ‘Disease X’ that’s sickened hundreds of people and killed at least 79, since late October. Almost 200 of the 376 afflicted with a flu-like illness are younger than five years, said Jean Kaseya, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases of fever, headache, cough, difficulty breathing, and anemia were first reported on October 24 in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3289636/what-mystery-disease-x-and-why-have-dozens-died-dr-congo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3289636/what-mystery-disease-x-and-why-have-dozens-died-dr-congo?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Dec 2024 05:30:50 +0000 Congolese authorities on Saturday began vaccination against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread from Congo to several African countries and beyond was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO). The 265,000 doses donated to Congo by the European Union and the United States were rolled out in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, where hospitals and health workers have been overstretched, struggling to contain the new and possibly more... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3281243/congo-finally-begins-mpox-vaccinations-drive-slow-outbreaks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3281243/congo-finally-begins-mpox-vaccinations-drive-slow-outbreaks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Oct 2024 18:03:52 +0000 The World Health Organization approved on Thursday the first mpox diagnostic test for emergency use to expand access to medical testing urgently. The agency granted approval for emergency use of Abbott Laboratories unit’s PCR test, Alinity m MPXV assay. The test enables detection of mpox virus DNA from human skin lesion swabs, the agency said, adding that it was designed for use by trained clinical laboratory personnel. The agency said it was evaluating three new mpox diagnostic tests for its... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3281002/who-approves-first-mpox-diagnostic-test-emergency-use?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3281002/who-approves-first-mpox-diagnostic-test-emergency-use?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Oct 2024 22:51:40 +0000 India has detected its first case of the virulent mpox virus strain, according to a government official, as the latest global health emergency reaches the world’s most-populous nation. The patient, who is from Kerala, has tested positive for the clade Ib strain, the official said who asked not to be identified as the information has not been released formally by the health ministry. The mutated strain was detected in a 38-year-old man from Kerala’s Malappuram district who had recently travelled... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3279717/india-detects-first-case-fast-spreading-mpox-strain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3279717/india-detects-first-case-fast-spreading-mpox-strain?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Sep 2024 04:41:51 +0000 Malaysia’s health ministry reported on Tuesday one new case of the mpox virus infection of the clade 2 variety, a less severe variant of the disease, and said the patient had been isolated and was in a stable condition. The case was detected on Monday in a man who began showing symptoms of fever, sore throat and a cough on September 11, with a rash appearing the following day, the health ministry said in a statement. Malaysia has detected 10 cases of mpox since July last year, all of which are... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3278817/malaysia-reports-new-mpox-case-man-who-had-not-travelled-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3278817/malaysia-reports-new-mpox-case-man-who-had-not-travelled-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Sep 2024 03:21:58 +0000 The WHO on Tuesday said droplets were a minor route of transmission for mpox compared to physical contact, adding that more research was needed to understand how the outbreak is spreading. The World Health Organization declared an international emergency over mpox on August 14, concerned by the surge in cases of the Clade 1b strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its spread to nearby countries. The UN health agency says on its website that mpox spreads between people mainly through close... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3276184/who-says-droplets-minor-route-mpox-transmission-outbreak-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3276184/who-says-droplets-minor-route-mpox-transmission-outbreak-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Aug 2024 03:03:56 +0000 “I felt very sick and scared, I couldn’t even walk any more,” said mpox patient Samuel Nduwimana in Burundi’s economic capital Bujumbura, one of around 170 confirmed cases in the small African country. Talking to journalists from an isolation ward in the city’s King Khaled Teaching Hospital, Nduwimana’s face and upper body are scattered with painful-looking marks. “I started to lose my appetite, I had a fever and I felt a small pimple on my genitals that hurt a lot,” he said, describing the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3275778/burundi-treats-sick-and-scared-mpox-patients-amid-rising-cases-worldwide?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3275778/burundi-treats-sick-and-scared-mpox-patients-amid-rising-cases-worldwide?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Aug 2024 12:36:17 +0000 Thailand on Thursday confirmed an mpox case reported this week was the clade 1b strain of the virus, the second confirmed case of the variant outside Africa. The case is a 66-year-old European man who had arrived in Thailand last week from an unspecified African country where the disease was spreading. “The test results confirm that he is infected with the Clade 1b strain of monkeypox, which is the first case diagnosed in Thailand, but this man is likely infected from an endemic country,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3275517/thailand-confirms-clade-1b-mpox-case-second-outside-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3275517/thailand-confirms-clade-1b-mpox-case-second-outside-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Aug 2024 12:10:16 +0000 A mutated form of mpox has been circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo for months. Now the response to what has become a global health emergency faces a key obstacle: The country still doesn’t have a single vaccine. The absence of shots and challenges in understanding the spread of the disease in the central African country underscore how hold-ups on the ground, a lack of international coordination and funding problems have hampered a swift response. The chain of delayed reactions to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3275060/how-we-sleepwalked-global-mpox-emergency-i-dont-think-world-has-learned?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3275060/how-we-sleepwalked-global-mpox-emergency-i-dont-think-world-has-learned?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Aug 2024 11:00:57 +0000 A surging mpox outbreak in Africa was declared an emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO) this week and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), an EU agency, on Friday said more imported cases to Europe were “highly likely”. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declared its first-ever Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS) for the deadly disease. It is the second time the WHO has issued its public health emergency... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3274863/what-we-know-about-new-mpox-outbreak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3274863/what-we-know-about-new-mpox-outbreak?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Aug 2024 06:16:27 +0000 Pakistan said on Friday it had confirmed a case of mpox, a day after Sweden recorded the first infection outside Africa involving a new, more dangerous strain of the virus that has killed hundreds in the DR Congo. The mpox surge in Africa – which has also affected Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda – prompted the World Health Organization on Wednesday to declare a public health emergency of international concern, the highest alarm it can sound. Sweden’s Public Health Agency told AFP on Thursday... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3274757/pakistan-reports-first-case-deadly-mpox-virus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3274757/pakistan-reports-first-case-deadly-mpox-virus?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Aug 2024 08:32:27 +0000 Changes in the mpox virus are just the latest challenge facing disease trackers trying to contain an outbreak of the virus that’s become a global health emergency. The surge of cases is centred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country roughly the size of western Europe that’s been wracked by decades-long conflict, severe poverty and malnutrition as well as camps housing hundreds of thousands of displaced people. Now, just like the coronavirus, influenza and the many other pathogens that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3274732/mpoxs-big-evolutionary-jump-hinders-efforts-track-its-spread?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3274732/mpoxs-big-evolutionary-jump-hinders-efforts-track-its-spread?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Aug 2024 06:33:53 +0000 Global health officials on Thursday confirmed an infection with a new strain of the mpox virus in Sweden and linked it to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent a day after the World Health Organization declared the disease a global public health emergency. Swedish health officials said at a press conference that the person was infected while in Africa with the clade Ib type of mpox involved in the recent outbreak. The person is receiving treatment. “The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3274673/who-confirms-1st-case-mpox-outside-africa-outbreak-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3274673/who-confirms-1st-case-mpox-outside-africa-outbreak-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Aug 2024 18:25:12 +0000 The World Health Organization has declared the mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency, with cases confirmed among children and adults in more than a dozen countries and a new form of the virus spreading. Few vaccine doses are available on the continent. Earlier this week, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the mpox outbreaks were a public health emergency, with more than 500 deaths, and called for international help to stop the virus’... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3274518/who-declares-mpox-global-health-emergency-new-form-virus-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3274518/who-declares-mpox-global-health-emergency-new-form-virus-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Aug 2024 18:15:38 +0000 Africa’s top public health body declared what it termed a “public health emergency of continental security” on Tuesday over an outbreak of mpox that has spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) had warned last week of an alarming rate of spread of the viral infection, which is transmitted through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most cases are mild but it can... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3274382/africas-top-public-health-body-declares-mpox-emergency?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3274382/africas-top-public-health-body-declares-mpox-emergency?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Aug 2024 20:08:49 +0000 The World Health Organization’s chief announced on Wednesday he was urgently convening an expert committee to advise on whether the growing mpox outbreak in Africa should be declared an international emergency. Since last September, cases have surged in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to a strain of the virus which has now been detected in nearby African countries. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that given the spread outside the DR Congo, “and the potential for further... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3273633/who-calls-emergency-committee-mpox-spread?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3273633/who-calls-emergency-committee-mpox-spread?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Aug 2024 19:33:18 +0000 As Congo copes with its biggest outbreak of mpox, scientists warn discrimination against gay and bisexual men on the continent could make it worse. In November, the World Health Organization reported that mpox, also known as monkeypox, was being spread via sex in Congo for the first time. That is a significant departure from previous flare-ups, where the virus mainly sickened people in contact with diseased animals. Mpox has been in parts of central and West Africa for decades, but it was not... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3246912/stigma-against-gay-men-could-worsen-congos-biggest-mpox-outbreak-scientists-warn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3246912/stigma-against-gay-men-could-worsen-congos-biggest-mpox-outbreak-scientists-warn?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jan 2024 14:30:08 +0000 China has classified mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, as a Class B infectious disease, as case numbers surge, with most infections occurring in men and linked to sexual transmission, according to the National Health Commission and data from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The NHC announced the change on Friday, saying it would take effect from next Wednesday and upgrade prevention and control measures against the disease. China needs to step up its fight to contain... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3234747/mpox-chinese-health-officials-step-control-measures-cases-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3234747/mpox-chinese-health-officials-step-control-measures-cases-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Sep 2023 13:04:35 +0000 Hong Kong’s rising trend of mpox cases is a delayed outbreak after the relaxation of Covid-19 travel restrictions, experts have said, warning more infections may spill over from mainland China after its recent surge in cases. The threat to the general population remained low as the virus was unlikely to cause a community outbreak, the specialists said, urging authorities to allow mpox patients, mostly with mild symptoms, to isolate at home instead of having to stay in hospital. But the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3231656/hong-kongs-rising-mpox-cases-are-delayed-outbreak-more-infections-likely-follow-surge-mainland-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3231656/hong-kongs-rising-mpox-cases-are-delayed-outbreak-more-infections-likely-follow-surge-mainland-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Aug 2023 05:00:09 +0000 Hazmat suits, PCR tests, quarantines and contact tracing – it was hard not to feel a sense of déjà vu a few weeks ago when the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention published new guidelines on containing a disease outbreak. But what was happening was not another Covid-19 wave. Rather, the Chinese government was addressing a potentially significant new public health concern: mpox. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that China is currently experiencing the world’s fastest... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3231470/mpox-cases-rise-china-response-affected-anti-lgbtq-bias-and-technology-nationalism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3231470/mpox-cases-rise-china-response-affected-anti-lgbtq-bias-and-technology-nationalism?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Aug 2023 23:45:10 +0000 Hong Kong infectious disease experts and NGOs have said there is no need to panic over a spike in mpox cases in the city. “The risk of infection is low because the outbreak is small in scale and localised to high-risk groups, mainly men who have sex with men,” said Dr Leung Chi-chiu, an infectious diseases expert. His assurance came after the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) opened a dedicated mpox vaccination centre in Argyle Street, Mong Kok, on Thursday. Hong Kong to open dedicated mpox... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3229482/no-need-panic-hong-kong-mpox-vaccination-centre-opens-high-risk-groups-amid-call-calm-experts-ngos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3229482/no-need-panic-hong-kong-mpox-vaccination-centre-opens-high-risk-groups-amid-call-calm-experts-ngos?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Aug 2023 01:00:13 +0000 Hong Kong will open a dedicated mpox vaccination centre on Thursday, as health authorities warned they could not rule out the possibility of an outbreak among high-risk groups in the city. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) on Wednesday said half of the 16 cases recorded so far in the city were from this month, including four patients with no travel history who were believed to have been infected locally by unknown sources. “The results reflected mpox virus transmission might have occurred... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3229008/hong-kong-open-dedicated-mpox-vaccination-centre-thursday-authorities-warn-local-outbreak-among-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3229008/hong-kong-open-dedicated-mpox-vaccination-centre-thursday-authorities-warn-local-outbreak-among-high?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:43:07 +0000 Vaccinations against mpox will be extended in London after a recent spike in cases, the British Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has announced. A cluster of 11 new cases in the capital have been diagnosed in the past few weeks, with the majority affecting unvaccinated people and three who had received only one dose of the vaccine, according to UKHSA. The national vaccination programme will close as planned towards the end of July. Mpox, previously called monkeypox, is a rare infection most... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3224399/vaccinations-against-mpox-be-extended-london-after-cases-spike?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3224399/vaccinations-against-mpox-be-extended-london-after-cases-spike?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jun 2023 14:05:35 +0000 The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday it was ending a 10-month-long global health emergency for mpox, a viral disease that led to confirmed cases in more than a hundred countries. The organisation declared monkeypox – which it has renamed as mpox because of “racist and stigmatising” language surrounding the virus – a public health emergency of international concern in July 2022 and backed its stand in November and February. The WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3220262/who-declares-end-monkeypox-public-health-emergency?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3220262/who-declares-end-monkeypox-public-health-emergency?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 May 2023 17:27:05 +0000 Hong Kong health authorities are investigating a new monkeypox case involving a 34-year-old man who is a close contact of the city’s fifth confirmed infection. The Centre for Health Protection said the man was epidemiologically linked to the other patient, 59, who was confirmed to have contracted the rare disease caused by the monkeypox virus last Friday. The latest patient was in good health before becoming infected, the centre said. He was admitted to Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3219055/hong-kong-investigates-new-monkeypox-case-close-contact-citys-fifth-confirmed-infection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3219055/hong-kong-investigates-new-monkeypox-case-close-contact-citys-fifth-confirmed-infection?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 May 2023 15:15:36 +0000 Hong Kong health authorities have called on residents to be more vigilant after the city recorded its fifth monkeypox infection, which is not linked to other confirmed cases according to a preliminary investigation. The latest case involves a 59-year-old male patient with chronic disease who developed a body rash last Tuesday. He visited the Yau Ma Tei Male Social Hygiene Clinic of the Department of Health on Thursday and tested positive for monkeypox on Friday evening, according to the Centre... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3218862/hong-kong-records-fifth-monkeypox-case-authorities-call-vigilance-and-urge-high-risk-groups-get?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3218862/hong-kong-records-fifth-monkeypox-case-authorities-call-vigilance-and-urge-high-risk-groups-get?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Apr 2023 10:50:09 +0000 Hong Kong should expect more monkeypox infections as international travel had restarted, health experts warned after authorities confirmed a fourth case of the virus on Friday, just a day after a third case had been recorded in the city. But experts emphasised the risk to the public remained low and suggested more public education was needed to avoid an increase in high-risk exposures. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said on Friday it was investigating an imported monkeypox case of a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3217845/hong-kong-authorities-confirm-third-case-monkeypox-experts-warn-more-could-follow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3217845/hong-kong-authorities-confirm-third-case-monkeypox-experts-warn-more-could-follow?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Apr 2023 06:29:46 +0000 Read more of SCMP’s annual Professional Education guide The world’s experience with Covid-19 and more recently monkeypox has demonstrated how important healthcare education is to the effective functioning of society. While frontliners like doctors, nurses and other carers have been of utmost importance, public health professionals with a holistic understanding of healthcare systems and how they are run have arguably been just as crucial. A master’s in public health (MPH) helps prospective... https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3203268/postgraduate-studies-healthcare-how-hong-kongs-universities-have-taken-lessons-covid-19-pandemic-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3203268/postgraduate-studies-healthcare-how-hong-kongs-universities-have-taken-lessons-covid-19-pandemic-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Jan 2023 03:00:14 +0000 The World Health Organization has renamed monkeypox as mpox, citing concerns the original name of the decades-old animal disease could be construed as discriminatory and racist. The UN health agency said in a statement Monday that mpox was its new preferred name for monkeypox, saying that both monkeypox and mpox would be used for the next year while the old name is phased out. WHO said it was concerned by the “racist and stigmatising language” that arose after monkeypox spread to more than 100... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3201306/who-renames-monkeypox-mpox-citing-racism-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3201306/who-renames-monkeypox-mpox-citing-racism-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Nov 2022 12:51:38 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. We refer to the letter by Wyss Yim (“More research needed to link sea level changes to human-induced global warming”, September 9). We need to point out that Yim’s conclusion is incorrect.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3192985/climate-change-link-between-sea-level-rises-and-human-activity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3192985/climate-change-link-between-sea-level-rises-and-human-activity?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Sep 2022 03:30:08 +0000 Top Chinese epidemiologist Wu Zunyou has revised his advisory about monkeypox prevention after his earlier comments came under fire for being “racist and discriminatory”. On his Weibo account on Saturday, Wu urged people to avoid “direct skin-to-skin contact” with foreigners or recent returnees from abroad to avoid contracting the disease. The comments drew criticism on Chinese social media where his advice was ridiculed as racist and inappropriate. The advisory came a day after China reported... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3193061/chinese-health-expert-amends-monkeypox-advisory-after-online-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3193061/chinese-health-expert-amends-monkeypox-advisory-after-online-backlash?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Sep 2022 14:22:05 +0000 A top Chinese epidemiologist is facing a backlash online for his monkeypox prevention warning against having “direct skin-to-skin contact” with foreigners or recent returnees from overseas. The suggestion from Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, came a day after mainland China confirmed its first case of the disease. The patient had flown to the southwestern municipality of Chongqing from overseas and developed symptoms, including a rash,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3192923/online-backlash-over-chinese-experts-monkeypox-prevention?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3192923/online-backlash-over-chinese-experts-monkeypox-prevention?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Sep 2022 10:30:07 +0000 Smallpox vaccines are likely to be effective against the new monkeypox variant, Hong Kong researchers have found, offering the first insights into how this could potentially curb the latest worldwide outbreaks. Due to the low occurrence of major monkeypox outbreaks in the past, there have been limited clinical data on the efficacy of smallpox vaccines on the virus and its new variants in humans. But a data analytical study by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has made... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3192842/are-smallpox-vaccines-effective-against-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3192842/are-smallpox-vaccines-effective-against-new?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Sep 2022 04:00:17 +0000 China has detected its first case of monkeypox in the southwestern city of Chongqing, but the risk of community transmission is very low, the local health authority said. Chongqing’s health commission said the patient, whose age and sex have not been released, had flown to the city from overseas. They developed symptoms, including a rash, while in quarantine for Covid-19. Lab results from both the Chongqing and the national centre for disease control and prevention showed the patient was... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3192823/china-records-first-monkeypox-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3192823/china-records-first-monkeypox-case?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Sep 2022 14:19:29 +0000 The world has never been in a better position to end the Covid-19 pandemic, the head of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, urging nations to keep up their efforts against the virus that has killed over 6 million people. “We are not there yet. But the end is in sight,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at a virtual press conference. The comment was the most optimistic from the UN agency since it declared Covid-19 an international emergency and started... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3192523/coronavirus-end-sight-who-chief-announces-urges-continuing-monkeypox?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3192523/coronavirus-end-sight-who-chief-announces-urges-continuing-monkeypox?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Sep 2022 15:51:17 +0000 Los Angeles County health officials announced on Monday that a resident had died from monkeypox, believed to be the first recorded US fatality linked to the virus. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced the cause of death, and a spokesperson said it was confirmed by an autopsy. The patient was severely immunocompromised and had been hospitalised. The county did not disclose any other information for privacy purposes. 18 people outside the country have died of the disease in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3192376/first-known-monkeypox-death-us-confirmed-los?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3192376/first-known-monkeypox-death-us-confirmed-los?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Sep 2022 16:00:19 +0000 An outdoor recreation centre is set to be converted into a quarantine facility for close contacts of monkeypox patients after Hong Kong earlier recorded its first confirmed case from overseas. Health officials on Monday night said the Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre on Hong Kin Road would be repurposed from Tuesday as part of the government’s response plan to prevent the spread of the disease. Authorities put the strategy into action when a 30-year-old man became the city’s first case of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3192260/recreation-centre-hong-kong-be-converted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3192260/recreation-centre-hong-kong-be-converted?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Sep 2022 16:45:05 +0000 Hong Kong has its first confirmed case of monkeypox, four months after the disease was first reported in other countries where it is not endemic. There is no need for panic. It does not spread easily like Covid-19. Symptoms are seldom severe and fatalities rare. Infectious disease expert Dr Wilson Lam says most cases can recover on their own. There is also a vaccine against the virus and the government expects its first shipment soon, after final negotiations with the maker. Close contacts of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3191877/measured-response-first-hong-kong-monkeypox-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/3191877/measured-response-first-hong-kong-monkeypox-case?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Sep 2022 00:00:26 +0000 Hong Kong has activated its response plan to prevent the spread of monkeypox after a 30-year-old man who arrived home from an overseas trip was confirmed as the city’s first case. Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan of the Centre for Health Protection on Tuesday said the city had implemented the first of a three-tier response plan, requiring the government to strengthen health surveillance measures at borders and distribute information about the virus. Even as the government raised its alert level, Chuang... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3191500/young-man-who-returned-hong-kong-overseas-trip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3191500/young-man-who-returned-hong-kong-overseas-trip?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Sep 2022 05:34:01 +0000 Close contacts of confirmed monkeypox cases in Hong Kong will soon be able to get vaccinated against the disease, while the government has reserved quarantine facilities for them as local authorities step up measures to guard against any possible outbreak in the city. Rolling out its latest prevention strategy against monkeypox on Friday, the government also revealed that the first shipment of the jabs would arrive in the city within this month as it was finalising negotiations with a vaccine... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3191104/monkeypox-vaccine-will-be-available-close?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3191104/monkeypox-vaccine-will-be-available-close?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Sep 2022 07:18:20 +0000 Texas health officials are seeking to determine if monkeypox led to the death of an adult in Harris County – the first such fatality in the US if it is confirmed. “At this time, the patient’s cause of death is unknown,” county officials said in a statement. “Harris County Public Health is collaborating with partners to determine what role, if any, monkeypox may have played in this person’s death.” An autopsy is under way, and results will be available in a few weeks, the county said. The person... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3190754/us-monkeypox-patient-dies-what-may-be-countrys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3190754/us-monkeypox-patient-dies-what-may-be-countrys?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Aug 2022 18:44:28 +0000 It is possible to eliminate the monkeypox outbreak in Europe, World Health Organization officials said on Tuesday, highlighting evidence that case counts are slowing in a handful of countries. There are encouraging signs of a sustained week-on-week decline in the onset of cases in many European countries, including France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Britain, as well as a slowdown in some parts of the United States, despite scarce vaccine supplies. “We believe we can eliminate sustained... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3190744/monkeypox-outbreak-can-be-eliminated-europe-who-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3190744/monkeypox-outbreak-can-be-eliminated-europe-who-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Aug 2022 13:34:12 +0000 A man who tested positive for Covid-19 broke out in a rash later that day. Tests revealed he also had monkeypox and HIV, according to a case study in the Journal of Infection. The 36-year-old patient, who was not identified by name in the report, is the first in the world to test positive for all three infections in a single day, the researchers said. The Italian man reported that he developed a fever, sore throat and headaches nine days after returning from a trip to Spain. He tested positive... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3190216/italian-man-diagnosed-covid-19-monkeypox-and-hiv-single-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3190216/italian-man-diagnosed-covid-19-monkeypox-and-hiv-single-day?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Aug 2022 18:25:20 +0000 British health authorities will begin offering eligible people just a fraction of the normal monkeypox vaccine dose to stretch supplies by about five times, in line with similar decisions to extend available doses in Europe and the United States. In a statement on Monday, Britain’s Health Security Agency said patients at clinics in Manchester and London would soon get just a fifth of the regular monkeypox vaccine dose as part of ongoing research, citing earlier work suggesting the smaller dose... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3189810/uk-use-lower-dose-monkeypox-vaccine-stretch-supply?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3189810/uk-use-lower-dose-monkeypox-vaccine-stretch-supply?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Aug 2022 15:52:26 +0000 Indonesia confirmed its first case of monkeypox in a local man who was recently overseas, prompting authorities to say they will distribute vaccines and increase lab testing services for suspected cases. A 27-year-old male from Jakarta tested positive with mild symptoms and is under home isolation, said health ministry spokesman Mohammad Syahril. The person is known to have travelled to one of the 89 countries that has confirmed cases of monkeypox, he said, without specifying. The government... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3189621/indonesia-confirms-first-monkeypox-case-jakarta-man-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3189621/indonesia-confirms-first-monkeypox-case-jakarta-man-who?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Aug 2022 14:33:56 +0000 The World Health Organization called on Wednesday for people infected with monkeypox to avoid exposing animals to the virus following a first reported case of human-to-dog transmission. The case – between two men and their Italian greyhound in Paris – was reported last week in the medical journal The Lancet. “This is the first case reported of human-to-animal transmission … and we believe it is the first instance of a canine being infected,” Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3189272/who-urges-caution-after-dog-catches-monkeypox?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3189272/who-urges-caution-after-dog-catches-monkeypox?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Aug 2022 17:25:21 +0000 Poxy McPoxface, Trump-22 or Mpox: these some of the ideas sent in by the public to the World Health Organization as it seeks a new name for monkeypox. Often disease names are chosen behind closed doors by a technical committee, but the WHO has this time decided to open up the process to the public. After a slow start, dozens of submissions have now been made from a range of contributors including academics, doctors and a gay community activist. They range from the technical (Opoxi-22, submitted... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3189141/rename-monkeypox-poxy-mcpoxface-or-trump-22-who-vows-nothing-ridiculous?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3189141/rename-monkeypox-poxy-mcpoxface-or-trump-22-who-vows-nothing-ridiculous?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Aug 2022 17:50:10 +0000