The request was made after a 59-year-old man in Dak Lak, who had earlier travelled to South Africa for tourism purpose, has developed symptoms suspected to be monkeypox's after returning home.

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In the document, the local health department was urged to take samples of the suspected case and send them to Institutes of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Pasteur Institutes for testing.

The department needs to trace close contacts of the man, maintain health monitoring and deal with disease clusters (if any) in a timely manner to prevent the disease from spreading, according to the document.

The department is asked to enhance supervisions at border gates and medical facilities, provide training for health workers, review response scenarios, make preparations in terms of drugs, equipment, personnel and financing, and intensify the communication work.

The above-said man traveled to South Africa as a tourist on October 19, and returned to Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport on October 26 after transiting in Singapore, the provincial Department of Health said.

Between October 26 and November 1, the man had contacts with his family members and others.

After such symptoms as joint pain and rashes began to show up on November 1, he isolated himself at home. His close contacts have shown no abnormal signs.

If the test returns positive, the man would be Vietnam's third monkeypox case. The first two cases were women returning from Dubai who have recovered, posing no risk of community transmission.

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Source: VNA