The silent, rapidly unfolding threat of mpox spread via international travel to Southeast Asia: Are we ready?

The 2022 mpox (monkeypox) outbreak has been surprisingly large and has raised several novel questions about this disease. New information, such as atypical clinical manifestations and transmission via sexual activities, have been identified. These pose a potential risk of widespread outbreaks due to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease
Main Authors: Wasin Matsee, Sakarn Charoensakulchai, I Made Ady Wirawan, Hisham A. Imad
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2023.102597
https://doaj.org/article/41568a0a72ee4c83a23c3cc7e8a40882
Description
Summary:The 2022 mpox (monkeypox) outbreak has been surprisingly large and has raised several novel questions about this disease. New information, such as atypical clinical manifestations and transmission via sexual activities, have been identified. These pose a potential risk of widespread outbreaks due to unusual clinical manifestations and failure to consider mpox as a diagnosis by physicians and the sexual behaviours of some tourists in Southeast Asia. Since Southeast Asia is a popular tourist destination, there is substantial potential for the silent spread of mpox in this region. Consequently, there is an urgent need for effective surveillance measures at points of entry of international travelers to identify suspected cases and their close contacts in order to limit the spread of mpox in Southeast Asia.