Regarding Monkeypox, Health Experts Say It’s Important To Tell The Community

In general, the dissemination of monkeypox should include two things.

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Health expert Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama reminded the need for intensive socialization related to monkeypox or monkey pox to the community down to the village or sub-district level. Socialization and education are needed so that people understand more about monkeypox.

The professor at the UI Faculty of Medicine said that in general, socialization and education must include two things. “The first is about what monkeypox is, what are the symptoms, how is it transmitted and how to prevent it, including how to handle it,” he said, Tuesday (26/7/2022).

Second, he said, dissemination of the definition of a health emergency is necessary because the World Health Organization (WHO) has decided that global monkeypox is a public health emergency of international concern. “Thus, there needs to be socialization to the public about what a health emergency is so that people remain vigilant but do not panic excessively,” he said.

The former director of the World Health Organization (World Health Organization/WHO) Southeast Asia also said that, with intensive socialization, it could support awareness efforts related to monkeypox disease. “Through comprehensive socialization and education, it is also hoped that it will increase public understanding and awareness,” he said.

Virologist from Jenderal Soedirman University (Unsoed) dr. Daniel Joko Wahyono MBiomed said, socialization regarding clean and healthy living behavior (PHBS) to prevent monkeypox virus needs to be strengthened. “Socialization is needed as a form of vigilance against the monkeypox virus,” he said.

The Unsoed Faculty of Biology lecturer who teaches virology courses also explained that this monkeypox virus is a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus which is the Poxviridae family. “Like the human smallpox virus. This virus has a characteristic double-stranded DNA genome. Viruses with a double-stranded DNA genome are relatively not easy to mutate, because in the mechanism of doubling or replicating their viral genomes they have control over mutations, namely the DNA proofreading process,” he said.

The monkeypox virus, he added, can be detected molecularly by using this technique PCR to determine the etiology of the disease. “In addition, sequencing techniques or DNA sequencing to determine the strain of the virus,” he said.