Isolation For Monkeypox Patients Is Estimated 3 Weeks, With Treatment According To Symptoms

Illustration of monkeypox disease which is currently endemic in 70 countries around the world. (Ivan Balvan/Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta Health Service (Dinkes) confirmed that the treatment of patients exposed to monkeypox was carried out according to the symptoms that arise.

"The medicine depends on the symptoms that arise due to various manifestations (monkeypox), for example, there is a fever," said Head of the DKI Jakarta Health Service, Widyastuti, quoted by Antara, Thursday, August 25.

If the symptoms of fever, continued Widyastuti, the patient will be given fever medicine and if there is a smallpox rash then topical ointment is given.

She explained, that with treatment, including medication given to the patient, it is estimated that she will recover in about three weeks.

"Usually it is expected within three weeks to recover," she said.

Meanwhile, her party continues to monitor the development of patients who have been positively exposed to monkeypox, including three people who had close contact.

However, Widyastuti ensured that the transmission of monkeypox was not as easy as COVID-19, because in the case of monkeypox, transmission has the potential to occur when in close contact with a patient who is positive for monkeypox.

"Monkeypox is not as easily transmitted as COVID-19, so it must be in close contact, but those who are sick must still be isolated," she added.

Until now, the government recorded that one man in Jakarta was confirmed to have a monkeypox after the 27-year-old man was discovered to have just traveled from Europe.

Meanwhile, the Head of Disease Prevention and Control of the DKI Health Office, Dwi Octavia, explained that the three people who had close contact were in good condition and had no complaints.

However, if there are health complaints including rashes on the skin, then his party will conduct an examination in the form of a throat swab test or a skin swab test with a rash.

"For example, if there is a health complaint, it is just taking a specimen, you can 'swab' the throat, if there is a rash on the skin, it can be applied or 'swab' on the skin area that has symptoms," said Dwi.