A second case of monkeypox has been confirmed in Taiwan, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday, specifying that it was another imported infection.

The patient, a Taiwanese man in his 30s, was taken to hospital on July 10, soon after he arrived at the airport from a business trip to the United States, as he had alerted Taiwan authorities that he may have contracted the monkeypox virus, the CDC said.

On Tuesday, his test results came back positive for the disease, and he remains in hospital quarantine, the CDC said.

The patient, who traveled to the U.S. in May, first noticed symptoms such as a fever and swollen lymph nodes on July 3, the CDC said.

Two days later, he saw a doctor, who prescribed antibiotics, but the man soon developed other symptoms, including a rash and diarrhea, the CDC said.

Only the flight crew and airport staff had come into contact with the patient, as no one had sat next to him on the flight to Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (???) told reporters Tuesday.

The flight crew and airport staff were all wearing personal protective equipment and therefore have not been listed by the CDC as close contacts, Chuang said.

Monkeypox is caused by the monkeypox virus, which can spread through close contact with an infected animal or person, and transmission occurs through direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, body fluids, or materials contaminated with the virus.

It was officially designated as a category 2 communicable disease by the CDC on June 24, amid the global spread of the viral infections. The first monkeypox infection ever recorded in Taiwan was confirmed the following day in a student who had returned from Germany.

Other category 2 communicable diseases in Taiwan include dengue fever, Zika fever, typhoid fever, measles, and Chikungunya.

Since June 30, the CDC has issued travel alerts for 49 countries that have reported monkeypox infections that were domestically transmitted or of unknown origin.

At least 9,664 monkeypox cases have been confirmed in 64 countries since the first infections were reported in the United Kingdom in mid-May, according to Chuang.

Following the confirmation of the second case in Taiwan, the CDC will continue step up its control measures at Taiwan’s international airports and seaports, while seeking to procure smallpox vaccines and anti-viral medication, which are being used to prevent and treat monkeypox, he said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel