JOHOR BARU: Some 5.2 million travellers have been screened for monkeypox (mpox) at international entry points nationwide since Aug 16, said Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
“Some 46 cases of suspected mpox have been detected, but the results turned out to be negative.
“The last time we encountered a positive variant of clade 2 (nine cases) – not clade 1b, which is more virulent – was in December,” the Health Minister told reporters at the Clean, Smoke-Free Premises Walkabout Programme on Jalan Dhoby here on Thursday.
He added that to date, only nine mpox cases had been recorded in Malaysia, with all of them detected last year.
Mpox screenings at entry points, including airports, would not cause any delays in travellers’ clearance, he said.
“I have inspected the screenings done at the KL International Airport and at the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine building and so far, everything is running smoothly.
“We are using a mobile scanner and I do not see any interruptions or delays in the clearance process for travellers at our checkpoints on account of the screening that we are currently undertaking,” he said.
Dzulkefly added that even though mpox has been declared a “public health emergency of international concern”, it was not a pandemic situation like Covid-19 that necessitates a lockdown.
“However, we do not want the people to take it lightly and hope they will continue to be vigilant.
“At the same time, we do not want them to be shaken.”
