Monkeypox News: China Reports Its First Case Of Monkeypox In Chongqing City

During the current global outbreak of the virus, the Chinese city of Chongqing has confirmed the first case of monkeypox infection in a foreign traveller in mainland China.

Representative photo of sample labelled for Monkeypox infection

Source : Getty

New Delhi: The Chinese city of Chongqing reported one case of monkeypox virus infection in a foreign visitor on Friday, marking mainland China's first known monkeypox infection amid the recent global outbreak of the virus. 

The risk of transmission is low because the individual was quarantined upon arrival in Chongqing, according to a statement from the municipal health commission cited by news agency ANI. All close contacts have been isolated and are being monitored by medical personnel.

The traveller arrived in China on an unspecified date, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing the Chongqing health commission. The traveller developed a rash and other symptoms while being quarantined in accordance with COVID-19 controls, a practice that affects anyone arriving from abroad, according to the WSJ.

After reviewing test results, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the monkeypox case. According to the report, the traveller is being treated at a designated hospital and is in good condition.

Anyone who had come into contact with the traveller was placed under medical observation as a precaution. 

According to the health commission's statement, "the case was quarantined and controlled immediately after entering Chongqing, and there was no social activity," according to health experts.

The Chongqing case comes after Hong Kong reported its first case of monkeypox last week, a 30-year-old man who arrived from the Philippines after visiting the United States and Canada, according to the city's health officials.

According to ANI, as soon as the first monkeypox case was reported, a hashtag related to the Chongqing case received over 120 million views in less than an hour on the Chinese social-media platform Weibo. This monkeypox case, like China's strict zero-COVID policy hashtags, quickly became the top-trending topic on the site. China has attempted to contain COVID-19 outbreaks through extreme measures such as lockdowns and mass testing.

Many residents across the country, from the eastern province of Shandong to the western region of Xinjiang, have recently pleaded for help online, claiming they were running low on daily necessities such as baby formula, food, and medicine due to stay-at-home orders, according to the WSJ.