TOKYO – Japan’s health minister says the country has so far not confirmed any cases of monkeypox, NHK reported.
Goto Shigeyuki told reporters on Friday that monkeypox infections have been confirmed mainly in Western countries, but that there have been no reports of deaths from the disease in industrialized countries.
Goto said that in Japan, monkeypox cases legally require reporting if identified, but so far the government has received no such reports.
He referred to reports that smallpox vaccines are effective in preventing monkeypox infections. He said Japan has continued manufacturing and stockpiling smallpox vaccines as a counter-terrorism measure.
But he also said the amount of vaccine being stockpiled and other details are not disclosed, as part of risk management.
Goto pointed out that while the recent infections appear to be different from previous outbreaks, human-to-human infections have been considered rare.
He added according to MENA that the government is cooperating with the World Health Organization and others to gather necessary information.
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