A 50-year-old woman in Dawei Town in Tanintharyi Region has been referred to Dawei General Hospital with a suspected case of Mpox (previously known as monkeypox).

The woman first arrived at Yangon Airport from Malaysia in the first week of July. She then arrived in Dawei City’s Well Kyun Ward during the second week of July.

Her symptoms started appearing on 29 August and she went to the Mediland Private Hospital in Dawei City which then referred her to Dawei General Hospital.

Currently, she is being treated in isolation at Dawei General Hospital, according to a Dawei resident.

Because the woman was in contact with staff at the Mediland Private Hospital, before being admitted to Dawei General Hospital and put into isolation, residents of Dawei Township are worried about the Mpox spreading.

Dawei General Hospital has not yet released an official statement about the Mpox case.

Mpox can be transmitted in droplets suspended in air meaning that it can spread when people have close contact with Mpox infected people, such as having face-to-face conversations.

Symptoms of Mpox include  fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, skin rashes, and the appearance of pustules and fluid-filled blisters.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, was first discovered in 1970 and found in 11 African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease has recently emerged as an epidemic in some countries where it was previously not common.

Mpox cases have been identified in several countries around the world and there is the potential for an outbreak of Mpox in Myanmar and its neighbouring countries.

The WHO has declared Mpox an international public health emergency.