Aussies Travelling to Bali Require ‘Health Pass’ Asking About Mpox

A passenger walks past a banner informing about Monkeypox (MPOX) at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Indonesia, on Aug. 26, 2024. YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images

Australians travelling to Bali are now required to complete an electronic health declaration amid the mpox (monkeypox) outbreak.

The Department of Foreign Affairs’s Smartraveller website warned Australians if they have mpox symptoms, they could be sent to an Indonesian hospital.

This comes after World Health Organisation (WHO) director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the disease a global emergency on Aug. 14.

Australia has recorded 383 cases of mpox in 2024 as of Sept. 2 including 185 in New South Wales (NSW) and 148 in Victoria.

Foreign Affairs warned Australians they would need to fill out the health pass form online before checking in.

“Indonesian authorities will scan the barcode on arrival in Indonesia.  If you have mpox symptoms you may be referred to a hospital for treatment on arrival,” the Australian government states.

The advisory, current on Sept. 2, also warned travellers that Indonesia’s health system is not up to the same standard as Australia.

“Many regional hospitals only provide basic facilities.”

Indonesia Implements Health Pass in Response to WHO

The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation confirmed the health pass was implemented following the WHO declaring mpox as a “public health emergency of national concern.”

The SATUSEHAT Health Pass (SSHP) form asks individuals if they have been in close contact with anyone who has had any symptoms leading to mpox.

“Did you have close contact with a person who has any symptom leading to monkeypox (mpox) disease or animal such as rodent or primate in the past 21 days prior to your arrival in Indonesia?” the form asks.

Further, individuals are asked if they have symptoms, such as fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea, stiff neck, yellow eyes, headache, swollen lymph nodes, muscle aches, backache, skin lesions, rashes, patches, cough, and sore throat.

These are similar to the symptoms of mpox infection outlined by Australia’s Department of Health and Aged Care.

Meanwhile, UNICEF announced an emergency tender for mpox vaccine procurement on Aug. 31.

It means that UNICEF will set up conditional supply agreements with vaccine manufacturers.

UNICEF said vaccines play a critical role in containing the mpox outbreak, noting there had been 18,000 suspected cases of mpox including 629 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2024.

Australia’s Mpox Cases are Clad IIb

The Australian outbreak is caused by Clade IIb of the mpox virus, which differs from Clade Ib of the virus detected in Central and Eastern Africa.

Victorian Chief Health Officer Dr. Clare Looker recently warned that mpox cases were on the rise and are mostly impacting men.

“There is an ongoing outbreak of Mpox in Victoria and other Australian jurisdictions, mostly impacting gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men,” she said in the advisory.

“Consider limiting the number of your sexual partners during the current outbreak and ensure that you have their contact details so that if a partner develops Mpox you can be contacted and offered vaccination.”

Mpox spreads through close skin-to-skin contact or via contaminated items or surfaces and respiratory droplets, the Victorian Health Department noted.

NSW Health also issued an advisory in mid-August, recommending vaccines for those at high risk of developing mpox.

“While no vaccine is completely effective in preventing mpox, two doses of the vaccine can provide vital protection against severe illness caused by the virus,” NSW Health said.

The WHO’s public health emergency declaration was in response to the Clade Ib strain of the virus.

“Clade one (I) is endemic in central Africa and typically causes more severe disease than clade two (II), which is endemic to west Africa,” the WHO said at the time.

Murdoch University Immunology Professor Cassandra Berry said although mpox is much less dangerous than smallpox, some strains can be fatal.

She said the virus can be caught from infected rodents, squirrels, monkeys and infected humans.

“In the past, the smallpox vaccine also provided cross-reactive immunity to protect against Mpox. However, we are now seeing an increase in the number of cases of Mpox in people as smallpox vaccination has ceased,” she said.

“So, it is important to monitor this African virus outbreak and other countries via biosecurity surveillance.”