Jakarta. The Health Ministry announced that as of Saturday, Aug. 17, there have been 88 confirmed cases of monkeypox (mpox) in the country.

Yudhi Pramono, Acting Director-General for Disease Prevention and Control at the ministry, reported that out of these cases, 87 have fully recovered. The weekly trend of confirmed mpox cases in Indonesia indicates a peak in October 2023, based on data collected from 2022 to 2024.

"Among the 54 cases, all belong to the clade IIB variant. Clade IIB has been the most prevalent in the mpox outbreak from 2022 to the present, with a lower fatality rate and primarily transmitted through sexual contact," Yudhi  said in a statement on Monday.

The cases are distributed across several regions: 59 in Jakarta, 13 in West Java, nine in Banten, three in East Java, three in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), and one in Riau Islands.

Yudhi also noted that 54 out of the 88 cases qualify for whole genome sequencing (WGS) to identify the virus variants.

He further explained that there are two main clades of the monkeypox virus: clade I, originating from Central Africa (Congo Basin) with subclade 1a, which has a higher fatality rate (CFR) compared to other clades and can be transmitted through multiple modes. Subclade 1b is mainly spread through sexual contact with a CFR of 11 percent.

In contrast, clade II originates from West Africa and includes subclades IIa and IIb, with a CFR of 3.6 percent. Clade II has a lower fatality rate, with cases mostly transmitted through sexual contact during the 2022 outbreak.

Mpox can spread through direct contact with pus-filled skin lesions, including during sexual intercourse. Yudhi highlighted that male-to-male sexual contact poses a high risk for transmission.

"We urge the public to use medical masks if feeling unwell. If symptoms such as pus-filled rashes or scabs appear, seek immediate medical attention at the nearest health center, clinic, or hospital," Yudhi advised.

The Health Ministry has implemented various preventive measures, including surveillance across healthcare facilities, epidemiological investigations with community and HIV/AIDS partners, establishing 12 national reference laboratories for mpox testing, and conducting WGS.

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