PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health, Youk Sambath, to test the Monkeypox vaccines sent from Russia.

The Prime Minister made this order while receiving an honorary doctorate degree in development from the Royal University of Phnom Penh this Friday morning, 5 August. He said that Monkeypox seems to be more difficult to treat than Covid-19.

According to Prime Minister Hun Sen, Russia has sent 500 test vaccines for Monkeypox to Cambodia, however, he did not clarify the exact type of the vaccine sent.

Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Nigerian Monkeypox patient found in Cambodia, Osmond Chihazirim, is still being treated in the hospital, as he continues to test positive for the disease.

Chihazirim first tested positive for the disease in Thailand, where he escaped from a treatment facility and fled to Cambodia on 22 July. The next day, Cambodian authorities found him in Phnom Penh, and he was immediately sent to the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital for treatment.

Five people were also identified to have been in direct contact with him, however, none have shown any symptoms but continue to isolate, according to the Ministry of Health.