AS the country braces for another outbreak with the dreaded monkeypox virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed its readiness to provide assistance to the Philippines in its fight against the disease.
“As we do with all disease outbreaks, WHO has been and will continue to work closely with the DOH (Department of Health) to provide technical advice to support the development and implementation of national policies, strategies, and plans,” said WHO Philippines Officer-in-Charge Dr. Graham Harrison in a statement.
“We will continue our support as the situation evolves,” he added.
Harrison also cited the DOH’s readiness in handling the monkeypox.
“The Department of Health has been proactive towards preparedness, prevention, and response to monkeypox,” he said.
The WHO official urged the public to remain vigilant following the detection of the first monkeypox case in the Philippines.
“We at WHO want to highlight that monkeypox can affect anyone, but everyone can help reduce its transmission,” said Harrison.
“Common symptoms of monkeypox include fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash that blisters and crusts. If you think you might have monkeypox, we encourage you to seek medical advice,” he added.
On Friday, July 29, the DOH reported the first case of monkeypox in the country, involving a 31-year-old Filipino national who arrived from abroad. The DOH said that this person “had prior travel to countries with documented monkeypox cases.”
“The Philippines is the eight country/area in the Western Pacific Region with confirmed monkeypox cases,” the WHO said.
On July 23, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus announced that the multi-country outbreak of monkeypox represents a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
BOHOL: VIRUS-FREE
Meanwhile, the province of Bohol remains free of monkeypox after the two-year-old boy from the town of Pilar who was first suspected of being infected with the disease tested negative.
This was confirmed by assistant provincial health officer Doctor Yul Lopez after the Department of Health first reported that a Boholano is one of the two suspected cases of monkeypox in Central Visayas.
Lopez said that the Bol-anon referred to DOH7 as a ‘suspect’ of Monkeypox was tested but the result was negative.
(More details on page 16 headline news)
NOT THAT FATAL
The DOH said that monkeypox is rarely fatal. “Monkeypox symptoms are mild, and the disease is rarely fatal,” it said on Saturday, July 30.
It also noted that there are two “clades” of monkeypox: the West African clade, and the Congo Basin clade.
“Historic data published by the WHO points to a case fatality rate (CFR) of 360 deaths per 10,000 cases for the West African clade and 1,000 deaths per 10,000 cases for the Congo Basin clade,” the DOH said.
“The denominator for these data points has been historically smaller than the number of cases we have today worldwide. Recent figures place the case count worldwide at around 22,000, with 10 deaths, giving a CFR of around five deaths out of every 10,000 cases,” the DOH added. (with reports from Analou de Vera/ MB)
