Kinumpirma ng Department of Health (DOH) na may naitalang unang kaso ng monkeypox sa Pilipinas.
Sa press briefing, sinabi ni DOH OIC – Undersecretary for Public Health Services Team Beverly Ho na isang 31-anyos na Filipino ang nagpositibo sa naturang sakit. Dumating ang pasyente sa Pilipinas noong Hulyo 19.
“The case had prior travel to countries with documented monkeypox cases,” ani Ho.
“The case was tested and confirmed positive for monkeypox via Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction or RT-PCR done at the DOH Research Institute for Tropical Medicine on July 28,” dagdag nito.
Kahit maayos na nakaka-recover ang pasyente, nakasailalim pa rin aniya ito sa istriktong isolation at monitoring sa kaniyang tahanan.
Sinabi ni Ho na 10 close contacts ang naitala, kung saan tatlo rito ay kasama ng pasyente sa bahay.
“All have been advised to quarantine and are being monitored by the Department,” pagtitiyak ni Ho.
Paglilinaw pa nito, ang monkeypox ay dulot ng ibang microorganism at hindi ito kapareho ng COVID-19.
“It spreads mostly by intimate sexual contact with those who have rashes or open lesion. It is not like COVID-19 that spreads mostly through air,” dagdag nito.
Kasunod nito, nagpaalala ang DOH na patuloy na sumunod sa mga itinakdang health protocols, tulad ng pananatiling malinis ang kamay, pagsusuot ng face mask, magtakip gamit ang siko kung uubo, at magpunta sa mga lugar na may maayos na ventilation.
“If you have travel history to countries with monkeypox and then have symptoms like fever, kulani, and rashers, that’s the time that you need to seek medical attention,” saad pa nito.
Ayon pa kay Ho, “The DOH assures everyone that our public surveillance systems are able to detect and confirm monkeypox cases.”