KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — The Ministry of Health (MoH) said today that one mpox clade II cases was confirmed positive yesterday.

In total, there have been only 10 confirmed cases in the country since July 6 last year, and they were all from the clade II strain — which is generally milder and has lower mortality rate.

"The patient is a male citizen who began showing symptoms of fever, headache, and cough on September 11, with the rash appearing on September 12,” it said in a statement here.

"The patient has no history of international travel within the 21 days prior to the onset of symptoms and is currently in isolation in stable condition. All contacts of the patient are being identified, and their health status will be monitored in accordance with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs).”

The case remains the only positive mpox case out of the 58 suspected cases referred to the ministry this year.

Mpox has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) for the second time on August 14 2024, following the rapid spread of the clade Ib virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries in the African region.

Following this, the MoH had activated the Mpox Operations Room under the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) on August 16, 2024.

The National CPRC continues to monitor the Mpox situation and coordinate preparedness measures and responses accordingly.