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Monkeypox becomes Class 2 infectious disease in Korea
by Lee, Jeong-Hwan Jun 09, 2022 06:24am
The viral zoonosis monkeypox will be designated and managed as a ‘Class 2 infectious disease’ by law starting today (8th). With its level raised, monkeypox will now be managed and considered to have the same level of risk as COVID-19, tuberculosis, and chickenpox. If a person is confirmed with a Class 2 infectious disease, this must be reported to the quarantine authorities within 24 hours, and the infected person is required to undergo mandatory quarantine. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said, “In consideration of the characteristics of monkeypox including its severity, monkeypox will be designated as a ‘Class 2 infectious disease that is designated through discussion between the KDCA commissioner and MOHW minister.’ Other notices that have been partially revised include the notification on the diagnostic criteria for infectious diseases and the notification of infectious diseases that the KCA commissioner deems in need of emergency quarantine measures. The main content of the revised notice is to classify monkeypox as a second-class infectious disease and give treatment and quarantine obligations to confirmed patients. Under the Infectious Disease Prevention Act, patients confirmed with statutory infectious diseases are obligated to report their infection. 22 diseases including COVID-19, tuberculosis, and chickenpox are designated as Class 2 Infectious Diseases that require isolation in consideration of the possibility of its transmission. The authorities have issued an “interest” alert for monkeypox after holding a risk assessment meeting on monkeypox with the Infectious Disease Risk Management Committee at the end of last month. Also, due to the increase of overseas visitors and infected cases abroad, the authorities had set up a separate task force to preemptively respond to the rising possibility of its influx to Korea. Previously, the KDCA had evaluated that there is an ‘intermediate’ risk of infection in high-risk groups that have contacted confirmed or symptomatic patients without appropriate personal protective equipment (sexual contact, cohabitant), and a ‘low’ risk of infection in the general public. Monkeypox is mainly transmitted through close physical contact and has a lower transmission rate than COVID-19. Monkeypox, originally an endemic that had previously been confined to Central and West African countries, was first reported in the UK early last month, followed by sporadic reports of the disease globally including in the United States, Spain, Germany, France, Morocco, and Israel. According to the WHO, 780 cases of the disease in 27 countries have been confirmed in non-endemic areas as of the 5th of this month. The authorities are also in the process of introducing a ‘third-generation’ vaccine that has proven efficacy against monkeypox. Bavarian Nordic’s ‘Jynneos’ is being considered a likely candidate. The KDCA already owns 35 million courses of a second-generation smallpox vaccine in preparation for a public health crisis but is not considering using the stockpile for public vaccination. The authorities plan to treat confirmed patients in isolation wards as soon as a case of monkeypox occurs in Korea. Whether to impose quarantine on those in close contact is still being discussed. The authorities have asked those who visit countries where monkeypox occurred to practice good personal hygiene and contact the KDCA call center (1339) if suspicious symptoms occur within three weeks after returning to Korea.