MANILA: The Philippines has detected its first case of monkeypox in a person with a history of overseas travel, officials said Friday.
The announcement comes within a week of the World Health Organization declaring the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency.
Philippine officials did not identify the gender of the person, only saying they were 31 years old and tested positive on Thursday after an RT-PCR test.
“The case had prior travel to countries with documented monkeypox cases,” said Beverly Ho, an acting undersecretary for the Department of Health.
“Ten close contacts were recorded, of which three are from the same household. All have been advised to quarantine and are being monitored by the department.”
A surge in monkeypox infections has been reported since May outside the West and Central African countries where the disease has long been endemic.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that more than 18,000 cases have now been reported to the organisation from 78 countries, with 70 percent of them in Europe and 25 percent in the Americas.
Five deaths have been reported in the outbreak since May, he said.
The Philippines sought to head off potential panic, saying monkeypox was not like Covid-19.
“This is not like Covid that can be spread by air very easily and could possibly be fatal,” said Trixie Cruz-Angeles, press secretary for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“This is not particularly fatal.”
The Philippines is working with the United States government to secure vaccines against monkeypox, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.
DOH’s Dr. Beverly Ho said this after the first case of monkeypox was recorded in the country.
“Our discussions are ongoing… We’re working with the US government to secure the vaccines. There’s not a lot that’s available in the market,” Ho said in a press briefing.
“Also, it’s only a select population group that will have to be vaccinated. Again, it’s not like Covid-19 that all of us need to be vaccinated,” she added.
Ho assured that all systems are in place to fight monkeypox.
“We all need to work together. We also need the public to be vigilant, particularly the key population groups who are at most risk,” Ho said.
“Based on what we know about monkeypox, lifestyle. There is a very clear need to be more careful about who we interact with, particularly sexual, intimate contact,” she added.
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
