Vietnamese returnee from South Africa suspected to have monkeypox

The man from the Central Highlands’ Dak Lak Province traveled to South Africa as a tourist on October 19, and returned to Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport on October 26, the Dak Lak Department of Health said.

His symptoms began to show up on November 1, including joint pain, rashes and blisters. He isolated himself at home and informed authorities. His close contacts have shown no abnormal signs.

Authorities have isolated the man and his family, as well as taking samples for testing.

If the test returns positive, the man would be Vietnam’s third monkeypox case. The first two cases were women returning from Dubai who have recovered, posing no risk of community transmission.

Most monkeypox patients recover in 10-14 days and stop being contagious after 21 days. As of October 20, around 73,000 cases in over 100 countries and territories have been recorded.