Health Authorities "Monkeypox Under Review for Designation as a Legal Infectious Disease and Declaration of Crisis Level" (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The government is considering designating 'monkeypox,' which is spreading in Europe and North America, as a legally designated infectious disease and whether to declare a crisis level.

On the 31st, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced that it held an Infectious Disease Crisis Management Expert Committee meeting the day before to prepare and respond to monkeypox, and discussed these matters.

At the meeting, the committee emphasized the need to promptly designate monkeypox as a legally designated infectious disease since it is currently not designated, to manage it and establish diagnostic and response systems.

They also proposed holding a crisis assessment meeting to review whether to declare a crisis level based on domestic and international risk evaluations.

Lee Hyung-min, Head of the Emerging Infectious Disease Response Division at KDCA, explained, "At the Infectious Disease Crisis Management Expert Committee meeting held the day before, professional reviews were conducted on the current overseas occurrence status of monkeypox, the speed of its spread, characteristics of the disease, and what kind of response system should be quickly implemented if it enters the country or if patients occur," adding, "there was also a request to manage it through additional designation as a domestic legally designated infectious disease."

Lee Sang-won, Head of the Epidemiological Investigation and Analysis Division at the Central Disease Control Headquarters of KDCA, said, "Today (31st) in the afternoon, a crisis assessmentmeeting will be held to evaluate the current situation and discuss future response directions."

Monkeypox, known as an endemic disease in the African region, has recently been spreading beyond the United States and Europe to countries in Australia and the Middle East. According to the WHO, as of the 26th, 257 confirmed cases and up to 127 suspected cases have been reported in 23 countries.

Although there have been no domestic cases yet, the incubation period can be as long as 21 days, so the possibility of domestic spread through overseas entrants cannot be ruled out. Monkeypox generally accompanies fever, muscle pain, back pain, fatigue, chills, severe headache or tiredness, and after fever, a rash appears.

The government is strengthening quarantine measures to prevent the domestic spread of monkeypox by checking the fever of all travelers upon entry and requiring them to fill out health questionnaires.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.