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Govt revives health tracking system for mpox ahead of IAF 2024
The health minister announced on Tuesday that the government was reactivating the COVID-era health tracking system, previously known as PeduliLindungi, as part of its preventive measures against mpox.
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A standing banner presenting information about mpox is displayed on Aug. 26, 2024 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. The World Health Organization declared the zoonotic disease, which originated in Africa, a global public health emergency on Aug. 14. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
T
he government has taken several preventive measures against mpox ahead of the 2nd Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF), which is expected to host around 1,500 participants from 51 countries, including 22 African nations, from Sept. 1 to 3 in Bali.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin announced that the early detection system for infectious diseases had been reactivated on the instruction of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to prevent transmission of the zoonotic disease in the country.
"The President has decided that we will reactivate the Electronic Surveillance Card [KPE], previously known as PeduliLindungi," Budi said on Tuesday in Jakarta after his meeting with the President, as quoted by tempo.co.
International arrivals are required to scan a barcode or QR code upon entry under the KPE, a health monitoring system that keeps track of individuals’ travel history and provides a color-coded health risk rating of green, yellow and red.
The measure is part of the government’s broader strategy to prevent the spread of clade Ib mpox, a new and more virulent strain that has a fatality rate of up to 10 percent, compared to less than 1 percent for the clade II lineage.
While most of Asia, including Indonesia, has dealt primarily with clade II mpox, the recent emergence of the clade Ib variant has raised significant concern.
Indonesia reported 88 mpox cases as of Aug. 17, including 87 patients who had recovered from the disease, with the majority of infections caused by the clade IIb variant.
Read also: Ministry records 88 mpox cases since 2022
Budi reassured the public that the situation was under control, and that the World Health Organization (WHO) had not recommended vaccination for the general public.
The WHO launched a global mpox vaccination campaign on Aug. 26 targeting individuals with the greatest risk of infection, such as healthcare workers and close contacts of people with mpox.
"The fatality rate is very low, and all patients in Indonesia have recovered. There is no need to worry, especially since the smallpox vaccine is available," he added.
Previously known as monkeypox, “this virus is part of the same family as the virus that causes smallpox”, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The smallpox vaccine reportedly has an efficacy rate of 85 percent in protecting against mpox.
