VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOI, Jakarta - The Jakarta Health Service plans to administer monkeypox vaccination to 500 people from at-risk groups next week as a precautionary measure against the spread of the disease.

"The vaccine will be given in two doses for each person with a gap of four weeks. In accordance with the availability of the monkeypox vaccine in Indonesia, we will disburse the 1,000 doses for 500 people," Acting Head of the Jakarta Health Service, Ani Ruspitawati, confirmed on Friday.

Apart from vaccination, tracing will be conducted to search and monitor people who are in close contact with monkeypox patients, she revealed.

According to Ruspitawati, every positive case of monkeypox will be isolated at the hospital, including suspects with typical symptoms or having had close sexual contact with monkeypox patients awaiting PCR results.

For non-sexual close contacts, symptoms will be monitored on a daily basis by the community health center (puskesmas). If monkeypox symptoms are found, a laboratory examination will be conducted, she remarked.

"For every close sexual contact, an isolation and a laboratory examination will be carried out," she stated.

The Jakarta Health Service had also prepared for hospital isolation rooms and antiviral drugs as well as actively coordinated with experts at vertical hospitals regarding case management, she remarked.

Ruspitawati said that the case fatality rate in monkeypox is about one percent.

"This means that out of 100 positive cases, there is a possibility that one will die," she explained.

Most deaths from monkeypox cases are due to secondary infections and low immunity conditions in at-risk groups, such as men who like men, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, children, and the elderly, she revealed.

She remarked that until October 27, some 17 cases of monkeypox were recorded in the capital city comprising 16 active cases at the hospital and one case that has been declared cured.

Some 11 people are also suspected of exhibiting monkeypox symptoms.

She said that all patients had mild symptoms and were infected from sexual contact.

"All the patients are men aged 25-50 years, with two cases who live outside Jakarta," she stated.

Earlier, the Indonesian Health Ministry had vaccinated 157 people at risk of contracting the monkeypox virus.

"The current vaccination achievement is 157 people, or 31.72 percent of the total target of 477 people. The vaccination is still running at four or five puskesmas in Jakarta," the ministry's Director General of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P), Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, stated on October 26.

The ministry is also seeking assistance from the ASEAN for additional two thousand doses of the monkeypox vaccine.(Antaranews)