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Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) does not recommend a mass vaccination of Singapore's population against monkeypox, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook post today (Jul. 25).

Ong said that this was due to the "self-limiting" nature of the disease, and said that the benefits of mass vaccinations for monkeypox do not outweigh its risks.

Each monkeypox case generates 3-4 close contacts

Ong said Singapore has detected a total of four imported and four local cases of monkeypox.

"The cases were promptly isolated. There was no evidence of them transmitting the infection to other people in the community," said Ong.

He said MOH also quarantines close contacts for up to 21 days since last exposure.

Lower-risk contacts are monitored through phone surveillance.

"Typically, each case may generate three to four close contacts who require quarantine, unlike Covid-19 which may generate up to 20 quarantine orders," Ong added.

Monkeypox a global public health emergency, but risk assessment remains "moderate"

Ong noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, just as it did with Covid-19 in 2020.

Ong added, however, that the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) Emergency Committee of WHO did not come to a consensus on this declaration.

The WHO decided to go forward with the declaration nevertheless, as the monkeypox outbreak met the criteria of being an extraordinary event, put other countries at risk, and requires international coordination in response, Ong said.

The WHO's risk assessment for monkeypox remains "moderate" at the global level.

Ong said MOH will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Top photo via Zheng Zhangxin and WHO/Facebook