An mpox patient being treated in Việt Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Việt Nam has recorded its first death from monkeypox (mpox), a 29-year-old man from Long An Province.

He was infected with both mpox and late-stage HIV/AIDS.

The patient was admitted to HCM City Hospital of Tropical Diseases on October 2, 2023 with fever and blisters.

He suffered from multiple infections, pneumonia, tuberculosis and severe multiple organ failure, and died after 18 days of treatment.

HCM City has recorded 20 mpox cases since the beginning of this year. Among those, 18 patients, including 17 men and one woman, tested positive for HIV.

All cases are being quarantined and treated at the city’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases. 

The Ministry of Health has classified mpox in the list of group B infectious diseases.

The disease is transmitted from person to person through close contact with an infected person.

Most patients will recover after 10-14 days and stop spreading the disease after 21 days. However, the disease can cause serious complications, or even be life-threatening for immunocompromised people like those infected with AIDS, cirrhosis or diabetes. — VNS