Southeast Asia ramps up mpox countermeasures amid optimism of containment
- Singapore, Malaysia, and other countries have stepped up surveillance measures and prepared their healthcare experts to contain mpox
The nature of the mpox virus would unlikely overwhelm Singapore’s capacities to contain it, said Dale Fisher, director at the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Infectious Disease Emergency Response.
“During Covid-19, it was necessary to create makeshift community isolation facilities and repurpose existing healthcare infrastructure for example, but I can’t see this being necessary for mpox,” Fisher said.
However, one Singapore-based infectious diseases specialist stressed that children were more vulnerable to the new strain of the virus, warning that the virulence of mpox might be greater than anticipated.
“The spread may potentially be fast and furious, with the speed similar to a hand, foot and mouth disease outbreak in a childcare facility,” said Leong Hoe Nam, a specialist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, though adding that Covid-like lockdowns were unlikely to curb mpox.
Last week, Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung described the situation as “very worrying” and expected Singapore to be among the “first places to find cases because of our flight connections”.