First Case of Monkeypox Detected in PH

The Philippines has recorded its first case of monkeypox as the Department of Health made the announcement Friday, July 29, during a televised Malacañang press briefing.

DOH assistant spokesperson Beverly Ho made the unfortunate announcement as she said that the first monkeypox case in the country is from a 31-year-old Filipino who had traveled to countries with recorded monkeypox cases.

The Filipino arrived in the country on July 19.

An RT-PCR test done at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine confirmed the detection of the virus in the country.

While the subject has been discharged, strict isolation, quarantine, and monitoring is being done at the Filipino’s home.

Moreover, Ho said that they have been able to trace 10 close contacts. Of the 10, 3 are from the same household and are currently in quarantine.

Ho added that the close contacts do not show any symptoms that are known to be caused by monkeypox.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.

Recent reports of monkeypox started with travelers from Nigeria to Israel in September 2018, to the United Kingdom in September 2018, December 2019, May 2021 and May 2022, to Singapore in May 2019, and to the United States of America in July and November 2021. In May 2022, multiple cases of monkeypox were identified in several non-endemic countries, WHO added.

WHO further said that animal-to-human transmission of monkeypox can occur from direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids, cutaneous, or mucosal lesions of infected animals,

Meanwhile, human-to-human transmission can occur from close contact with respiratory secretions, skin lesions of an infected person or recently contaminated objects. (GFB)