MPOX/Taiwan reports 1st mpox case in local woman

Taipei, June 20 (CNA) A Taiwanese woman in her 90s has recovered from mpox (monkeypox), Taiwan's first case of a woman with the disease, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported Tuesday.

The woman from New Taipei began experiencing symptoms such as vesicles on her limbs and torso on June 1, said CDC Deputy Director General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) at a regular press briefing.

The woman, whose symptoms did not improve and later developed a fever, visited an emergency room on June 15 and tested positive for mpox on June 17, Lo said.

However, the woman was given a mpox vaccine shot as a form of post-exposure (post-exposure prophylaxis) treatment at the hospital and allowed to return home for self-health management without any medication as her situation was considered generally mild, according to Lo.

While it remains unclear how the woman contracted mpox, it is likely she was infected during an earlier period of hospitalization between June 12 and 26 due to pneumonia, Lo said, adding that nine close contacts have so far tested negative.

According to the World Health Organization, only 3.8 percent of around 81,000 mpox cases worldwide since last year have involved women.

Since the disease was designated a Category 2 communicable disease last June, Taiwan has reported 181 mpox cases, 168 transmitted locally and 13 abroad, according to the CDC.