South Vietnam reports 13 cases of monkeypox

HANOI (Xinhua): Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam reported four more cases of monkeypox, bringing the total number of infections in the city to 13 as of Monday (Oct 9), local media reported.

Of the 13 cases, two are from abroad while the rest 11 are domestic ones, the city's health department said, suggesting that the monkeypox virus may be circulating within the community.

All the cases have been quarantined. Local authorities are strengthening supervision to early diagnose and provide timely treatment to the patients.

According to the health department, many monkeypox cases in the city are found to be related to each other.

Monkeypox is not easily transmitted to everyone in the community, Vietnam News reported Tuesday, citing Tran Dac Phu, a senior advisor for the Vietnam Centre for Emergency Response to Public Health Events.

Vietnam detected its first monkeypox case last September.