Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Until the end of October 2023, the trend in cases of monkey pox or monkeypox in Indonesia is increasing. The pattern of spread of this disease is also no longer exclusively found in DKI Jakarta.
Epidemiologist from Griffith University Australia, Dicky Budiman, said that the spread of monkey pox cases has an iceberg phenomenon pattern and is able to spread silently. This is because monkey pox is generally found in closed groups.
“This closed group is gays and free sex offenders who often change partners, [berhubungan seksual] with people they don’t know, don’t use protection, even people with HIV,” said Prof. Dicky CNBC Indonesia, Tuesday (31/10/2023).
“Well, this tends to have an iceberg phenomenon pattern, then also a pattern of direct transmission silent Because undercover. Many are closed, they hide. “In addition, the variations of this disease are also very wide, not all of them are immediately serious,” he continued.
Even though it can be cured, Prof. Dicky emphasized that monkey pox should not be taken lightly by the government and society. Because, the disease is caused by a viral infection monkeypox it already has unusual transmission capabilities. According to Prof. Dicky, this has been proven since monkey pox left its traditional endemic zone, namely the African continent.
“I am worried that in Indonesia the more often it (monkey pox) infects, the more this virus mutates, the more likely it will be more effective in infecting and transmitting between people,” he added.
The potential for monkey pox to become endemic in Indonesia
 Photo: Monkeypox vaccine – Getty Images/Hollie AdamsLONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 23: A medical professional prepares a dose of the monkeypox vaccine on July 23, 2022 in London, England. The NHS is expanding its monkeypox vaccine rollout in London as monkeypox cases continue to increase in the capital. Monkeypox, a rare disease, is part of the same family of viruses as smallpox. (Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images) |
Furthermore, Dicky said that monkey pox could potentially become endemic in Indonesia, especially if it started infecting Indonesian domestic animals.
“Another danger is if human infection then infects domestic or wild animals in Indonesia,” said Dicky
“This is not impossible to happen. When that (monkey pox infecting domestic animals) occurs, this will create the potential for an endemic. If it infects native animals in Indonesia it is dangerous, it will be difficult to eradicate it,” he continued.
Thus, Prof. Dicky appealed to the Indonesian people to always implement a Clean and Healthy Lifestyle (PHBS), especially when having sexual relations.
Apart from that, he also encouraged the government to be proactive, progressive and massive in examining close contacts. According to Dicky, at least the government is tracing close contacts from the past two weeks to the third layer of close contacts.
Update on Monkey Pox Cases in Indonesia
Indonesian Ministry of Health via Head of the Communications and Public Services Bureau, dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, revealed that as of Monday (30/10/2023), the total number of cases of monkey pox in Indonesia was 27 confirmed cases.
Dr. Nadia said that the 27 cases were found in Bandung, West Java; South Tangerang, Tangerang Regency, and Tangerang City, Banten; and DKI Jakarta.
“As of October 30 2023, there were 27 confirmed cases. One case was in Bandung, two cases in South Tangerang, two cases in Tangerang Regency, one case in Tangerang City, and [21 kasus] the rest is DKI Jakarta,” said Dr. Nadia to CNBC Indonesia, Tuesday (31/10/2023).
Nadia explained that all confirmed patients with monkeypox were male. In detail, 22 percent of patients were aged 18 to 24 years, 37 percent were aged 25 to 29 years, 37 percent were aged 30 to 39 years, and the remaining 4 percent were aged 40 to 49 years.
“With a history of changing and having many sexual partners and sex with the same sex,” explained Dr. Nadia.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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