One Patient With Suspected Monkeypox Is Being Treated At The Unhas Hospital In Makassar

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MAKASSAR - Acting Head of the South Sulawesi Provincial Health Office, Arman Bausat, said that a suspected monkeypox patient was being treated at the Hasanuddin University Teaching Hospital in Makassar City.

"Now in Makassar there is one patient at the Unhas Hospital while being treated with suspicion of monkeypox. The person has only returned from Jakarta for one week," he said as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, August 23.

He explained that the patient who had been treated at the Hasanuddin University Teaching Hospital since Monday (22/8) was suspected of contracting monkeypox because he had symptoms of fever and rash on the skin.

"It is still suspected, it has not been confirmed that it is monkeypox. This morning we took samples for examination at the BBLK (Health Laboratory Center) and then sent them to Jakarta for further identification," he said.

"The examination process in the laboratory cannot be determined when there will be results, because sometimes in the PCR laboratory we cannot detect certain variants, so samples must be sent to Jakarta," he added.

Arman said that since the World Health Organization declared a health emergency due to the transmission of monkeypox, district and city governments in South Sulawesi had been asked to increase vigilance against the transmission of the disease.

He emphasized the importance of district/city governments to disseminate information to the public regarding the transmission of monkeypox and efforts to prevent transmission of the disease.

"The most important thing is socialization to the community. I'm sure the community has experience with COVID-19, the handling is the same, preventing transmission. The point is the health protocol," said Arman.

Monkeypox can be transmitted from animals to humans and from humans to humans.

Monkeypox can be transmitted from animals to humans through direct contact with blood, body fluids, or skin and mucosal lesions of animals infected with the virus that causes monkeypox.

While transmission of monkeypox from human to human can occur due to contact with respiratory tract secretions, skin lesions from infected people, or objects contaminated with the virus.

Symptoms of monkeypox are generally fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and the appearance of a rash on the skin.