MANILA – The required quarantine period for the 10 close contacts of the first monkeypox case in the country is still undergoing, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
“And [they] have remained asymptomatic,” the Department of Health told reporters on Thursday in a Viber message.
The DOH reported on July 29 the first monkeypox case – a 31-year-old Filipino who arrived from overseas on July 19.
“To date, there has been no new case of monkeypox in the country,” the DOH said.
Monkeypox has been declared as a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared public health emergency over America because it is one of the countries with the most number of monkeypox cases.
Monkeypox, unlike coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), is transmitted through close or intimate contact with an infected person.
Former National Task Force Against Covid-19 adviser, Dr. Ted Herbosa, said in a televised public briefing on Thursday that the government had asked the American government if it can supply the country vaccines against monkeypox.
“Dalawang klaseng brand ito, ito iyong smallpox vaccine. Hindi ito specific sa monkeypox pero nakita nilang epektibo ito sa pag-prevent kapag na-expose ka, pag-prevent ng pag-develop ng monkeypox, (These are two brands, smallpox vaccine. This is not specific to monkeypox, but it is seen effective when you’re exposed, to prevent developing monkeypox),” he said.
Herbosa stated that vaccines are only given to those who have been exposed to monkeypox. Post-exposure vaccination protects uninfected individuals from contracting an infection to which they have been exposed.
“So, hindi pa tayo nakaka-acquire nito, hindi pa rin nakarehistro sa ating FDA. So, I hope our Department of Health will try to acquire some of these, para sa mga mangangailangan nito dito sa Pilipinas (We have not acquired them, they are not yet registered with the FDA [Food and Drug Administration]. So, I hope our Department of Health will try to acquire some of these in case we need them here in the Philippines),” he said.
To date, he said there is no community transmission of monkeypox in the country.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. presided over a meeting with DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire and Director for Epidemiology Bureau Alethea De Guzman on Wednesday night to discuss updates on the country’s Covid-19 situation and the preparations for preventing the spread of monkeypox and dengue.
Marcos previously alleviated fears regarding the monkeypox virus, stating that it is not as frightening as Covid.
