December 18 ------ Fifty-two mpox cases have now been detected in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) announced. At a press conference, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said that most of the cases (33) came from the National Capital Region. It was followed by Calabarzon with 13 and Central Luzon with three cases. Cagayan Valley, meanwhile, had two cases, while Central Visayas had one.
Of these cases, one reportedly died but the Department of Health (DOH) said that the cause of death was not mpox, but a comorbidity. “Seventy percent or 47 (cases) of the 52 are male. So, lima lang ‘yung babae [only five are female]. Ang age nila [their age] as young as six months and as old as 66 years old,” Herbosa said. “Twenty nine percent or 30% are people living with HIV,” he added, noting that these people may have low immunity. Most of the cases also have no epidemiological link, meaning they had no contact with other people who have mpox. “What’s nice is kapag may nakuha kaming case, lahat ng contact tracing namin sa kanila, hindi nag-positive. That’s what it means na not epidemiologically-linked…may isang [kaso], nakuha niya sa abroad. ‘Yung iba, hindi na sila nag-infect,” Herbosa explained.
The Health chief also pointed out that all of the cases tested positive for clade II, which is a milder form of the mpox virus. He also said it is the clade 1b strain, which has been causing the increase in mpox cases in African countries, has not been detected in the country. Since it’s being transmitted through skin-to-skin close intimate contact, Herbosa said that the transmission is slow and thus does not concern the DOH too much. “So hindi kami masyadong takot dito, although may task force pa rin kami on mpox monitoring nito. But we’re not scared at all,” he said.
The mpox virus can be transmitted to humans through close and intimate contact with someone who is infectious, through contaminated materials like used clothes or utensils, or through infected animals. The public has been advised to use soap and water to kill the virus, and to use gloves when washing contaminated materials. Symptoms of mpox include a skin rash or mucosal lesions, which can last 2–4 weeks. The rashes are accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.
Source: gmanetwork.com
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