Singapore should expect mpox cases: Ong Ye Kung

Virus likely to spread to Middle East and Europe, which connect to S’pore by air

- Christine Tan

The mpox outbreak in Africa and other places is "very worrying", and Singapore should expect the virus to arrive at its shores.

Giving an update on Aug 17, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said the current risk of an outbreak in Asia and Singapore from Africa is low as there are no direct flights to the affected areas in the continent. However, the virus, which has seen a rapid surge in several African countries, is expected to spread to the Middle East and Europe which Singapore has flight connections to.

"I would say, in general, this is a very worrying situation, especially for the African continent. But I think we should work on the basis that mpox will arrive in Asia. And probably, Singapore will be one of the first places to find cases because of our flight connections (to Middle East and Europe)," said Mr Ong, who was speaking on the sidelines of a skills and career fair in Bukit Canberra, Sembawang. "This is something worrying.

We should be on alert. We should expect it to arrive in Singapore, and then when it does, respond appropriately and effectively." Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.

A new sub-variant - clade I - has alarmed global health experts due to its ability to spread easily through close, personal contact.