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Following Corona, 'monkey pox' is spreading around the world.
Although no patients have been reported in Korea yet, the rate or scope of the spread is not serious.
The government has decided to strengthen the quarantine procedures for passengers and crew members arriving from the affected countries.
By Park Jae-hyung, staff reporter.
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Monkey smallpox can be transmitted through contact with animals such as monkeys and mice.
Human-to-human transmission is rare, but it can become infected if blood or bodily fluids from an infected person get into wounded skin or mucous membranes.
It is not easily spread through the respiratory tract like the corona virus.
The incubation period is as long as 21 days, and the fatality rate is around 1%.
This time, unlike in the past, we do not know the origin of the infection, which is particularly worrisome.
[Lee Ki-il / Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters 1 General Coordinator: It was an endemic disease in Africa.
However, from May of this year, exceptionally, cases of infection have been continuously reported in the United States and Europe.]
The government has decided to strengthen quarantine to prevent inflow into the country.
People arriving from affected countries must check for fever and rash at the airport and fill out a health questionnaire.
Quarantine officers directly board the incoming vessel to check the condition of the crew.
If you develop suspicious symptoms such as fever, lymph node swelling, or blistering rash, you will be immediately transferred to an isolated hospital and subjected to PCR testing.
Britain and Belgium have recommended quarantine for at least three weeks for infected people and close contacts, and the German government has ordered 40,000 doses of the vaccine.
The World Health Organization stresses that monkey smallpox does not need to be overreacted as there are vaccines and treatments available.