Three-year old tests negative for monkeypox, has HFMD - Health DG

KUALA LUMPUR - Results from the National Public Health Laboratory (MKAK) has confirmed that a three-year-old child does not have monkeypox, and is instead infected with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), says Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

He said the child tested positive for ‘Coxsackievirus A6’ which causes HFMD, and negative for Monkeypox as well as several other viruses.

"The initial diagnosis of this child was HFMD. The child was then monitored at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital by a pediatrician. Two samples were taken, where MKAK had tested for several types of viruses, including HFMD and Monkeypox "he said in a post on Facebook today.

Dr Noor Hisham said the three-year-old was taken to the Batu 14 Health Clinic in Selangor due to fever (May 13) and rashes (May 16).

He said the rashes turned into blisters on May 19 and began to burst on May 21.

Prior to this, a message displaying the picture of a child went viral on social media, claiming that monkeypox had started to spread in Malaysia. - BERNAMA