THE Department of Health (DOH) warned on Monday, August 20, 2024, of community transmission of the mpox virus (formerly known as monkeypox) following the detection of the country’s first case for 2024.
In an interview with reporters, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said the 33-year-old male Filipino from Metro Manila who tested positive of mpox had no travel history abroad, which means that the virus is here in the country.
The patient reportedly had close intimate contact three weeks before he started experiencing symptoms, which include fever and distinct rash on face, back, nape, trunk, groin, palms and sole.
"That means the mpox virus is among us, so hindi siya imported. Warning siya to everybody... So community transmission ito," he said.
The DOH is doing contact tracing to avoid the spread of the virus.
However, Herbosa said there is nothing to worry about, noting that unlike the coronavirus, which is airborne, the mpox can only be passed through intimate contact.
“The Covid is airborne, so ang bilis makasakay mo lang sa bus, sa tren, sa jeepney pwede kang mahawa,” he said.
(The Covid is airborne, so you can get it from people on the bus, train, or jeepney.)
“Meron tayong mpox pero hindi tayo dapat mabahala kasi nga ‘yung Covid napraning tayo kasi marami tayong (uncertainties) at hindi alam. Ang mpox, 1957 pa ata unang nadetermine yan as illness at pabalik-balik lang pero kailangan pa rin mag-ingat tayo,” he added.
(We have mpox, so we shouldn't be worried unlike Covid, which made us paranoid because we have a lot of (uncertainties) and things we don't know about. Mpox was first determined as an illness in 1957 and it only comes back and forth, but we still need to be careful.)
He said there is no need to require the public to return to wearing face masks or implement border control due to mpox.
Patients suffering from mpox had to undergo an incubation period that can last from three to 17 days.
Herbosa said that mpox-positive individuals should isolate themselves to avoid the spread of the virus.
He also raised the need for frequent handwashing.
While there is no particular drug to treat the mpox virus, there are vaccines to protect a person against the disease although it is not yet available in the Philippines.
The DOH identified the following hospitals for suspected mpox patients:
* Research Institute for Tropical Medicine
* East Avenue Medical Center
* Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital
* Tondo Medical Hospital
* Quirino Memorial Medical Center
* Valenzuela Medical Center
* Rizal Medical Center
* Jose. M Rodriguez Hospital
* Region 1 Medical Center
* Southern Isabela Medical Center
* Bicol Medical Center
* Southern Philippines Medical Center
* Mariano Marcos Medical Center
* Paulino J. Garcia Hospital-Nueva Ecija
* JP Lingad Hospital-Pampanga
* Vicente Sotto Hospital-Cebu
* Amay Pakpak Medical Center-Lanao del Sur
(TPM/SunStar Philippines)