PUTRAJAYA, Sept 2 — Malaysia is set to receive the antiviral drug Tecovirimat (TPOXX) and the MVA-BN vaccine for mpox through the Covid-19 Asean Response Fund, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Tecovirimat will be used to treat mpox, particularly for patients with severe infections or those with weakened immune systems, he announced in two posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, today.

He wrote, “MVA-BN mpox vaccination is only given based on examination and evaluation by medical experts. No general vaccinations.”

Dzulkefl added that the MVA-BN vaccine would be “reserved for high-risk groups, including healthcare workers and close contacts of confirmed cases.”

The World Health Organisation has declared an outbreak of mpox, a viral infection spread through close contact, as a global health emergency for the second time in two years.

In response, the Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd, has tightened screening procedures for travellers entering through Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 as of August 29.

Dzulkefly said that every traveller arriving on international flights would be screened by thermal scanners to prevent mpox transmission.

The government has also activated a special operations room at the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre since August 16 to monitor and prevent the spread of mpox in coordination with other Asean countries.

The MoH stated that no suspected mpox cases have been detected among the nearly 2.64 million travellers screened at the country’s international entry points since August 16.