By Katrina Gracia Consebido
The Department of Health (DOH) detected on Friday, July 29, the first confirmed case of monkeypox in the Philippines.
In a press briefing, Health Undersecretary Beverly Ho said a 31-year old Filipino national “had prior travel to countries with documented monkeypox virus” and arrived from abroad last July 19.
The patient tested positive through RT-PCR at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine last July 28.
Ho said that the patient was discharged and currently undergoing monitoring and home isolation. Meanwhile, three out of the patient’s 10 close contacts came from the same household.
The remaining close contacts were advised to go under quarantine and monitoring by the DOH.
DOH assured the public that the country’s “public health surveillance systems” are capable of “detecting and confirming” monkeypox cases.
“[Monkeypox] spreads mostly by intimate sexual contact with those who have rashes or open lesions. It is not like COVID-19 that spreads mostly through air,” she explained.
DOH reminded the public to be cautious and continue to comply with the minimum public health protocols.
“We minimize close sexual contact with suspected cases, especially those with rashes or open wounds. Keep our hands clean, wear face masks, cover cough using the elbow, and continue to choose areas with good ventilation or air flow,” Ho added. – gb
