TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - West Java Health Agency’s Head of the Disease Prevention and Control Division, Rochady Hendra Setia Wibawa, confirmed that there is one monkeypox or mpox case in Bandung City.

“It was found in people with weak immune systems or people with HIV,” he said on Monday, October 30, referring to the laboratory test results from the Health Ministry in Jakarta.

The case was first reported by a health clinic in Bandung that treats people with HIV or ODHIV. The investigation of the infectious disease, Rochady said, was centered in Jakarta because the Bandung laboratory did not have the reagents needed for the test.

The West Java Health Agency then collected data on certain communities in the city and districts. “We will also coordinate with the Ministry of Health to see if it is possible to distribute vaccinations to the communities,” he added.

According to Rochady, monkeypox is similar to regular smallpox. However, the transmission occurs more frequently in certain communities and among people with low immunity. "Cases are more common among ODHIV," he said.

Earlier, the Health Ministry’s Director General of Disease Prevention and Control, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, attributed the increase in mpox cases to risky sexual behavior.

The Health Ministry’s spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said at least 21 cases of monkeypox have been found in Jakarta, South Tangerang, and Bandung as of Oct. 29.

ANWAR SISWADI (CONTRIBUTOR)

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