2022–2023 mpox outbreak in Taiwan explained

2022–2023 mpox outbreak in Taiwan
Disease:Human mpox
Location:Taiwan
Arrival Date:24 June 2022 – ongoing
Confirmed Cases:335
Deaths:1

The 2022–2023 mpox outbreak in Taiwan is a part of the larger outbreak of human mpox caused by the West African clade of the monkeypox virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Taiwan's first mpox case was reported on 24 June 2022.

Background

An ongoing outbreak of mpox was confirmed on 6 May 2022, beginning with a British resident who, after travelling to Nigeria (where the disease is endemic), presented symptoms consistent with mpox on 29 April 2022. The resident returned to the United Kingdom on 4 May, creating the country's index case of the outbreak.[1] The origin of several of the cases of mpox in the United Kingdom is unknown. Some monitors saw community transmission taking place in the London area as of mid-May,[2] but it has been suggested that cases were already spreading in Europe in the previous months.[3]

Timeline

The first known case of the mpox outbreak in Taiwan was detected on 24 June 2022. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the case was a Taiwanese man in his 20s who had traveled to Germany for his studies. He returned to Taiwan on 16 June, started showing symptoms on 20 June, and tested positive for mpox on 24 June.[4] [5] [6] On 12 July, Taiwan reported its second case of mpox in a man in his 30s who had gone on a business trip to the United States.[7] On 6 August, a third case of imported mpox was reported, involving a man in his 20s who had returned to Taiwan from the United States.[8] The fourth imported case, reported on 9 October, involved a man in his 40s who had visited Canada, and developed symptoms in the United States.[9] The fifth case was reported on 15 February 2023.[10] By March 2023, the disease was confirmed to have been domestically transmitted.[11] [12] In November 2023, the first death from mpox in Taiwan was reported.[13]

In February 2024, Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare formally changed the Mandarin name of the disease from monkeypox to mpox . This mirrored a change in the English-language name of the disease, originally proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 28 November 2022.[14] On 20 February, the Centers for Disease Control announced that Taiwan had avoided domestic transmission of mpox for fourteen consecutive weeks, thereby meeting the WHO criteria for the elimination of mpox from epidemic status.[15] Subsequently, two men separately tested positive for mpox, and each was classified as a domestic case.[16]

Responses

In May 2022, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control started increasing monitoring for mpox cases.[17] Later that month, health minister Chen Shih-chung stated that Taiwan was not yet planning to purchase a mpox vaccine.[18]

As the global outbreak spread, Taiwan designated mpox as a category 2 communicable disease on 23 June.[19] Two days after the index case was publicized, the CDC issued guidelines for risk assessment and control.[20] By 27 June, the CDC had begun working to reverse the vaccine policy declared in May, stating that talks to acquire mpox medications and vaccines had started.[21] Later on 30 June, the CDC issued a travel warning for 44 countries that had reported cases of mpox.[22] On 2 July, the CDC announced that they are planning to receive third-generation smallpox vaccines and antiviral drugs in late 2022. The CDC said that frontline medical workers and researchers will be the first to receive the vaccine.[23] On 24 July, the CDC announced that they signed a contract to purchase medication to treat mpox patients, and that a shipment will arrive in August at the earliest. The CDC also announced that they are in talks to purchase mpox vaccines, and that they are hoping to receive them by late August.[24] On 27 July, 504 courses of mpox medications arrived in Taiwan, to be used by severe cases and immunocompromised individuals.[25] On 1 September, Taiwan received its first doses of the mpox vaccine.[26] [27]

In August 2024, the Centers for Disease Control issued Travel Health Notices for seven African countries.[28]

Statistics

Total cases and deaths

New cases per day

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 16 May 2022 . Monkeypox – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220517223855/https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON381 . 17 May 2022 . 17 May 2022 . World Health Organization.
  2. Web site: Pinkstone . Joe . 17 May 2022 . Monkeypox 'spreading in sexual networks' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220517223851/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/17/monkeypox-likely-sexually-transmissible-infection-health-officials/ . 17 May 2022 . 17 May 2022 . The Telegraph.
  3. Web site: Nsofor . Ifeanyi . 2 June 2022 . OPINION: Media coverage of monkeypox paints it as an African virus. That makes me mad . 2 June 2022 . NPR.
  4. News: 24 June 2022 . Taiwan confirms first imported case of monkeypox . . 24 June 2022.
  5. News: 24 June 2022 . Taiwan confirms first imported case of monkeypox . . 24 June 2022.
  6. News: Chen . Chieh-ling . Liu . Kay . Taiwan reports first monkeypox case . 29 June 2022 . Central News Agency . 24 June 2022.
  7. News: Chen . Chie-ling . Chang . Ming-hsuan . Liu . Kay . Taiwan reports second case of monkeypox . 12 July 2022 . Central News Agency . 12 July 2022.
  8. News: Shen . Pei-yao . Huang . Frances . Taiwan reports third monkeypox case . Central News Agency . 6 August 2022.
  9. News: Yen . William . Taiwan reports new monkeypox case, asks people to report symptoms . 20 October 2022 . Central News Agency . 9 October 2022.
  10. News: Chen . Chieh-ling . Lin . Sean . MPOX/Taiwan reports 5th monkeypox case . 8 March 2023 . Central News Agency . 21 February 2023.
  11. News: Shen . Pei-yao . Mazzetta . Matthew . MPOX/Taiwan records first two local monkeypox cases . 8 March 2023 . Central News Agency . 1 March 2023.
  12. News: Chen . Chieh-ling . Chao . Yen-hsiang . MPOX/Taiwan reports 3rd domestically transmitted mpox case . 8 March 2023 . Central News Agency . 7 March 2023.
  13. News: Tseng . Yi-ning . Ko . Lin . MPOX/Taiwan reports 1st mpox death . 8 November 2023 . Central News Agency . 7 November 2023. Republished as: News: Mpox claims first casualty . 7 November 2023 . Taipei Times . 7 November 2023.
  14. News: Lee . I-chia . Health ministry changes mpox’s Mandarin name . 21 January 2024 . 21 January 2024.
  15. News: Tseng . Yi-ning . Ko . Lin . No domestic mpox cases reported in Taiwan in 14 weeks: CDC . 2 March 2024 . 20 February 2024.
  16. News: Tzeng . Yi-ning . Yang . Evelyn . Taiwan reports 2 domestic mpox cases . 2 March 2024 . 27 February 2024.
  17. News: Chang . Ming-hsuan . Lee . Hsin-Yin . 21 May 2022 . Taiwan steps up monitoring of monkeypox amid recent outbreak overseas: CDC . Central News Agency . 29 June 2022.
  18. News: Chen . Chieh-ling . Hsu . Phoenix . Mazzetta . Matthew . 23 May 2022 . Taiwan not planning to buy vaccine that protects against monkeypox: Chen . Central News Agency . 29 June 2022.
  19. News: Chiang . Yi-ching . 23 June 2022 . Taiwan lists monkeypox as category 2 communicable disease . Central News Agency . 29 June 2022.
  20. News: Shen . Pei-yao . Lee . Hsin-Yin . 26 June 2022 . Taiwan issues guidelines for monkeypox risk assessment, control . Central News Agency . 29 June 2022.
  21. News: Chiang . Yi-ching . 27 June 2022 . Taiwan in talks to buy vaccine, medication for monkeypox . Central News Agency . 29 June 2022.
  22. News: 30 June 2022 . Taiwan CDC imposes monkeypox travel alert for 44 countries . . 3 July 2022.
  23. News: 2 July 2022 . Taiwan in talks to get monkeypox vaccines in late 2022 . . 3 July 2022.
  24. News: 24 July 2022 . Taiwan could receive monkeypox medication, vaccine in August . . 25 July 2022.
  25. News: 28 July 2022 . Monkeypox medications arrive in Taiwan . . 28 July 2022.
  26. News: Chen . Chieh-ling . Lin . Sean . Lee . Hsin-Yin . Taiwan to take delivery of 500 monkeypox vaccine doses on Sept. 2: CDC . 5 September 2022 . Central News Agency . 31 August 2022.
  27. News: Chen . Chieh-ling . Mazzetta . Matthew . Taiwan takes delivery of 560 monkeypox vaccine doses . 5 September 2022 . Central News Agency . 1 September 2022.
  28. News: Lai . Sunny . MPOX/Taiwan CDC raises travel alert for 7 African countries due to mpox . 16 August 2024 . Central News Agency . 15 August 2024. and News: WHO declares mpox a global health emergency . 16 August 2024 . Taipei Times . 16 August 2024.

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