Japan reports first mpox, or monkeypox death
Health officials in Saitama Prefecture, Japan report the first mpox, or monkeypox death in the country.
The patient is a man in his 30s, who was immunocompromised due to human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV infection.
He had no recent travel history outside the Japan.
He was diagnosed in September and died two months later.
Japan's first case of mpox was confirmed in July last year, and there have been 227 confirmed cases in the country as of Dec. 3, according to the health ministry.
Mpox is mainly spread through close contact with body fluids, sores, shared bedding or clothing or respiratory droplets (kissing, coughing, sneezing). Symptoms include rash or unusual sores that look like pimples or blisters on the face, body and genitals, fever, chills, headache, muscle aches or swelling of lymph nodes. Early detection, testing and vaccination are vital to controlling the spread of this disease.
The incubation period for mpox is said to be 6 to 13 days, and after the incubation period, symptoms such as fever, headache, lymph node swelling, and muscle pain continue for 0 to 5 days, and a rash appears 1 to 3 days after the fever. (There have been reports of cases in which prodromal symptoms such as fever, headache, and lymphadenopathy were not always observed.)
If you have a fever, rash, or other physical condition, please consult your local medical institution and take basic infection control measures such as hand disinfection.