June 10, 2022
TOKYO – Japan has stepped up its surveillance for monkeypox after an increase in infections in European countries and other nations.
The government has issued guidelines calling for officials to be on high alert for suspicious cases, but experts say there is no need to worry too much about the low rates of infection and mortality of monkeypox, an infectious disease similar to smallpox that is endemic in some parts. of Africa.
About 1,200 people have been infected with monkeypox or a similar orthopoxvirus in 29 countries and regions, including the United Kingdom and Spain, according to a Wednesday announcement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC raised its monkeypox alert to level 2: “enhanced precautionary practice” on its three-level scale.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the virus has spread rapidly since it was confirmed in the UK in early May. According to the WHO, it is “very likely that other countries will identify cases and that the virus will spread more.”
No monkeypox-related deaths have been confirmed in the 29 nations and regions where the virus has emerged since May, according to the WHO and other sources. In Africa, where health care levels are generally low, mortality rates are estimated at 3% to 6%.
Japan has relaxed its COVID-19-related border restrictions, raising the limit on international arrivals from 10,000 people per day to 20,000.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said no case of smallpox in Japan has been confirmed. Quarantine stations are not testing for virus arrivals.
Signs have been put up at Narita Airport asking travelers to contact a public health center if they have any symptoms.
On June 1, the health ministry issued emergency guidelines urging local governments to take swift action if suspicious cases arise, for example, if a person develops a rash after returning from a country where ‘have confirmed outbreaks.
Because smallpox tests are only available at the Tokyo National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the ministry is establishing procedures for transporting samples from suspicious patients.
The ministry is also establishing plans for the treatment of monkeypox patients at 58 specialized medical institutions.
“The occupancy rate of COVID-19 hospital beds is declining, so we should be able to care for monkeypox patients. We do not want to underestimate the situation,” a metropolitan government official said. of Tokyo.
The smallpox vaccine is said to be approximately 85% effective in preventing smallpox. Japan suspended routine smallpox vaccination in 1976, but the government ensured sufficient doses for 2.5 million people after the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States in preparation for possible bioterrorism.
The Ministry of Health is determining whether the vaccine, which is produced and stored nationwide, can be used against diseases other than smallpox.
Patients with monkeypox usually receive treatment to relieve their symptoms. The European Union approved the use of an oral smallpox drug to treat monkeypox in January, but the drug has not been authorized for use in Japan.
According to the WHO and other organizations, the incubation period of the virus is 5-21 days. Patients often develop fever, headache, and swollen lymph nodes, after which a rash spreads from the face to the hands and feet. The rash begins as high points that turn into small blisters filled with fluid. These blisters eventually form crusts that take about three weeks to heal, naturally, in many cases.
Tokyo Medical University professor Atsuo Hamada said: “The monkey’s smallpox is relatively easy to contain because it is said that there is little risk of the virus spreading during the incubation period. Infections can be prevented. avoiding contact with suspicious patients “.