PUTRAJAYA (Aug 18): The Health Ministry (MOH) will increase surveillance at Malaysia’s international entry points and advocacy on monkeypox (mpox), following the disease being declared as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the second time on Aug 14, 2024.
The ministry also announced that all travellers with reported mpox cases need to monitor their own health status daily, including symptoms of mpox infection for 21 days from their arrival date in Malaysia, while those with a history of risky activities and symptoms like rashes need to undergo a check at nearby health facilities immediately, and avoid contact with other people to avoid spreading the disease.
All medical practitioners in government and private health facilities need to notify suspected and confirmed cases of mpox immediately at the nearest district health office, to ensure prevention and control measures are implemented, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that medical practitioners can refer to the "Guidelines on mpox management in Malaysia 2023" on the ministry’s official website at www.moh.gov.my.
The ministry will also ensure that premises that provide services involving skin contact with customers such as spas, massage parlours and other risky activities practise personal hygiene and have clean surroundings, and that no customers have symptoms of mpox.
"If customers or workers have such symptoms, they need to get a health check immediately,” the ministry said.
TheMOH will continue working with government and non-government agencies, including private hospitals and clinics, to monitor, detect and tend to mpox clinical cases jointly.
Mpox was declared as a PHEIC for the first time on July 23, 2022 and the status was rescinded on May 11, 2023.
Read also:
Top Glove surges, glove stocks gain amid mpox emergency
How the world sleepwalked into the global mpox emergency
WHO declares mpox 'public health emergency of international concern'
Uploaded by Liza Shireen Koshy