the kingdom. anutin charnvirakul, minister of public health, said that the government is seeking a smallpox vaccine from the who to bolster the public's immunity in case of a viral outbreak. on 30 may 2022, the local news reported the first case of mpox in the country. the patient was a passenger who was transiting from europe to australia via bangkok. however, the patient's symptoms developed and were diagnosed in australia. there have been no local cases discovered as of yet. vietnam: on may 24, 2022, vietnam's ministry of health asked border localities to increase surveillance to detect possible cases of mpox. outbreak by regions and countries georgia georgia was the first caucasian and the third asian and west asian country to report confirmed cases of mpox. the first case was reported by the ministry of health on 15 june 2022. israel main article: 2022–2023 mpox outbreak in israel israel was the first in both asia and west asia to report a case. on 20 may, israel reported a suspected mpox infected patient who was in isolation in ichilov hospital and tested positive on 21 may. on the same day, another suspected case was reported but the case was ruled out the next day, on 22 may. israel reported a single case each on 28 may and 7, 9, 15 and 16 june until the authorities reported three cases on 20 june. in a press statement released on 21 june, the ministry stated that one of them was infected locally, confirming community transmission of the disease in israel. the total reached 9 on that day. the case figure was updated regularly and press releases were released on the ministry's website whenever cases where reported. but after 21 june, the ministry started to release weekly report of the situation on the website. on 15 july, health minister nitzan horowitz announced that 2,000 mpox vaccines will arrive in israel, adding that he spoke with biotech company bavarian nordic ceo paul chaplin. he also said that a total of 90 cases were registered till then, and none of them needed hospitalisation. as of 17 july 2022, 96 confirmed cases were reported in israel. lebanon on 20 june, the first case of mpox in lebanon was reported by the national news agency (nna) stating the ministry of health, thus lebanon became the fourth country in both asia and west asia and the third in the middle east to report a mpox case. saudi arabia on 14 july, the first mpox case was detected in the capital city of riyadh. the person came from abroad. afghanistan afghanistan provinces in red reported suspected cases of mpox, but cases later tested negative, as of 5 june 2022 on 29 may, the islamic republic news agency and other news agencies reported two suspected cases of mpox who came back from iran in nimruz province citing local newspapers and the ministry of health and provincial health authorities. on 30 may, one case was reported in herat province. on 31 may, ministry spokesperson javid hazhir denied reports of confirmed cases and stated that suspected cases in nimruz and kabul provinces tested negative. he also said that afghanistan has the capability to test mpox cases. on 5 june, it was reported that the who will give test kits to the taliban-controlled ministry of public health, as they were lacking kits. ministry spokesperson stated that suspected cases in herat, maidan wardak and nangarhar provinces along with other provinces which were stated earlier tested negative and the country is free of mpox. bangladesh bangladeshi health authorities declared alert on every ports in the country in mid-may. shahjalal international airport in dhaka was in high alert. on 7 june, a 32-year-old turkish citizen was detected with mpox symptoms at the airport while screening. he was taken to the infectious diseases hospital in dhaka's mohakhali and isolated. although, on the same day the ministry of health and family welfare published a press release denying reports of mpox 'confirmed' in a foreigner. on the next day, the dghs director stated that he investigated the turkish citizen himself, and his symptoms were not due to mpox, and he was suffering from a skin disease for a long time. on 9 june, the suspected case tested negative. on 10 june, a 60-year-old woman was isolated in chuadanga after local doctors detected symptoms of mpox on her on 9 june. on the same day, a 42-year-old man who came back from india through benapole border crossing on 3 june, was sent to jashore hospital after he showed pox like symptoms. although, the district civil surgeon said on the next day that he was very probably infected with chickenpox. on 12 june, the case in chuandanga was discarded. bangladesh was the first country bar shore passes. on late may, chittagong seaport authority barred shore passes for all crew unless in the case of an emergency, while signed-off crew will have to undergo health checks. india main article: 2022–2023 mpox outbreak in india on 21 may, union health minister mansukh mandaviya directed the national centre for disease control and the icmr to keep a close watch and monitor the situation and directed airport and port health officers to be vigilant. they have been instructed to isolate and send samples to the national institute of virology (niv) of any sick passenger with a travel history to infected countries. many other states also responded individually, including karnataka, kerala, madhya pradesh, maharashtra, rajasthan, tamil nadu, uttar pradesh, and west bengal. on 3 june, a sample of a 5-year-old girl of ghaziabad in uttar pradesh who showed some symptoms of mpox were sent to the national institute of virology in pune. the test came back negative on 7 june. on 14 july, the health minister of kerala veena george announced a suspected case in kerala. the patient was a male who came back from the united arab emirates three days earlier. the patient reportedly died on 31 july, making it the first mpox casualty in india. philippines main article: 2022–2023 mpox outbreak in the philippines singapore on 21 june 2022, singaporean officials reported that a british flight attendant in the country had tested positive for the virus on 20 june. singapore was the fifth asian and first southeast asian country to report an mpox case during this outbreak. on 6 july, singaporean authorities confirmed the first case of local transmission. one more imported case was reported each on 7 and 8 july 2022, of which both are conveyed to the national centre for infectious diseases (ncid). on 13 july, the ministry of health reported another locally transmitted case, taking the total tally to 5. the patient was a 48-year-old british national residing in singapore and was also warded in the ncid. another local case was reported on the next day on 14 july. the patient was a male in his 40s, and was also warded in the ncid. thailand on 21 july 2022, the thai health ministry reported the first case of mpox in the country. the patient was a 21 year-old nigerian who stayed in phuket before crossing the border into cambodia and subsequently arrested in phnom penh. a week later, a second confirmed case was found in bangkok in a 47 year-old local man who admitted to had engaged in sexual contact with foreign men. on 3 august, a third confirmed case was reported by the department of disease control. the patient was a 25 year-old german man who arrived in phuket on july 18 as a tourist. on 5 august, the first confirmed case of a female in the country was announced. the patient was a 22 year-old thai woman who frequented bangkok night spots. on 15 august, it was reported that the fifth confirmed mpox patient in the country was a 25 year-old thai woman returning from dubai. a study from the faculty of medicine, chulalongkorn university, thailand lead by dr dhammika leshan wannigama reported multiple traces of monkeypox virus were detected in non-sewered wastewater in thailand with increasing concentrations from june to august 2022. china on 16 september, china reported its first case of mpox in chongqing municipality. japan main article: 2022–2023 mpox outbreak in japanon 25 july, japan reported its first case of mpox in a man in his 30s. on 28 july, a second case was reported from a man in his 30s. on 5 august, a third case was reported. on 10 august, a fourth case was reported. south korea on 22 june, south korea reported its first mpox case. taiwan main article: 2022–2023 mpox outbreak in taiwan in may 2022, the taiwan centers for disease control started increasing monitoring for mpox cases. later that month, health minister chen shih-chung stated that taiwan was not yet planning to purchase a mpox vaccine. as the global outbreak spread, taiwan designated mpox as a category 2 communicable disease on 23 june. on 24 june, taiwan reported its first confirmed case of mpox in a 25 year-old taiwanese man who came back to taiwan on 16 june after studying in germany. he started showing symptoms on 20 june and tested positive for mpox after seeking medical attention. two days after the index case was publicized, the cdc issued guidelines for risk assessment and control. by 27 june, the cdc had begun working to reverse the vaccine policy declared in may, stating that talks to acquire mpox medications and vaccines had started. later on 30 june, the cdc issued a travel warning for 44 countries that had reported cases of mpox. on 2 july, the cdc announced that they are planning to receive third-generation smallpox vaccines and antiviral drugs in late 2022. the cdc said that frontline medical workers and researchers will be the first to receive the vaccine. on 12 july, taiwan reported its second case, in a taiwanese man in his 30s who returned to taiwan from the united states. on 24 july, the cdc announced that they signed a contract to purchase medication to treat mpox patients, and that a shipment will arrive in august at the earliest. the cdc also announced that they are in talks to purchase mpox vaccines, and that they are hoping to receive them by late august. on 27 july, 504 courses of mpox medications arrived in taiwan, to be used by severe cases and immunocompromised individuals. north asia (russia) the first mpox case in russia, and by extension north asia, was confirmed on 12 july 2022, in a young man who returned from a trip to europe. statistics overview this is a table of confirmed and suspected mpox cases in asian countries during the ongoing 2022–2023 mpox outbreak. it does not include countries where suspected cases were reported but later discarded such as afghanistan. cases of mpox by countries of asia (last updated on 13 august 2022) country confirmed cases suspected cases total cases deaths last update first confirmed cases last confirmed cases israel 174 — 174 — 13 august 2022 21 may 2022 united arab emirates 16 — 16 — 13 august 2022 24 may 2022 singapore 15 — 15 — 13 august 2022 20 june 2022 india 10 4 14 1 13 august 2022 14 july 2022 lebanon 6 — 6 — 13 august 2022 20 june 2022 saudi arabia 5 — 5 — 13 august 2022 14 july 2022 taiwan 3 — 3 — 13 august 2022 24 june 2022 qatar 3 — 3 — 13 august 2022 20 july 2022 thailand 4 — 4 — 13 august 2022 21 july 2022 japan 4 — 4 — 13 august 2022 25 july 2022 georgia 1 — 1 — 15 june 2022 15 june 2022 south korea 1 — 1 — 22 june 2022 22 june 2022 turkey 5 — 5 — 13 august 2022 30 june 2022 russia 1 — 1 — 12 july 2022 12 july 2022 philippines 1 — 1 — 29 july 2022 29 july 2022 china 1 — 1 — 16 september 2022 16 september 2022 total 249 4 202 1 — graphs (these graphs excludes the cases reported in russia) total cases of mpox in asia new confirmed cases of mpox per week (a week is considered saturday to friday here) total confirmed cases of mpox by week (a week is considered