WHO Revoke Global Emergency Status, DKI Jakarta Asked To Stay Alert Mpox

The photo archive - Passengers from abroad pass through the body temperature scanner area belonging to the Soekarno-Hatta Health Quarantine Center (BBKK) BETWEEN PHOTOS/Muhammad Iqbal/Spt/am.

JAKARTA - The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government is asked to continue to monitor the spread of monkeypox (Mpox), even though the World Health Organization (WHO) has revoked the global emergency status of the disease.

This was conveyed by the Director of Infectious Diseases of the WHO Regional Office of Southeast Asia for the 2018-2020 period, Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, when contacted in Jakarta, Sunday, September 7.

"Jakarta needs to continue to carry out surveillance and control of Mpox. We remember, data until August 2024 noted that during the 2022-2024 period there were 88 confirmed cases of Mpox in Indonesia," said Tjandra, quoted from Antara.

Of these, DKI Jakarta recorded the most cases with 59 cases, followed by West Java with 13 cases, and Banten with 9 cases.

WHO officially revoked Mpox's global emergency status on Friday, September 5, taking into account the continued decline in cases and death toll in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as a number of other affected countries such as Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.

According to Tjandra, the revocation of emergency status is also influenced by the growing knowledge related to disease travel and control. Infected countries have also implemented better control programs.

However, he emphasized that vigilance is still needed. Indonesia must still be wary of Mpox, just like various infectious diseases that have the potential to become an epidemic in our country," he said.

Tjandra also reminded that although the global emergency status was revoked, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) still declared Mpox a "Continent Emergency" or a public emergency for security in the area.