MANILA – According to a health official, all the close contacts of the fourth monkeypox case in the country have shown no symptoms of the disease.
The fourth case, a 25-year-old Filipino with no documented travel history to countries with confirmed cases of monkeypox, is still undergoing a facility-based isolation.
Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a press briefing that the fourth case’s lesions are healing and no additional rashes or symptoms were observed.
About 20 close contacts of the fourth case have been identified by the DOH as of now.
“[The] Close contacts of fourth case all have no symptoms, four are quarantined, one is self-monitoring, and one is continuously assisting the patient,” she said.
Fourteen of the 20 close contacts have finished their quarantine and were all asymptomatic.
“There are no new infections based on sa ginagawa nating sample collection and testing. Wala pa ho uli nagte-test na positive for the monkeypox (the sample collection and testing we’re doing. No one else has tested positive for monkeypox),” Vergeire said.
Due to lack of pertinent details, the DOH is still cannot confirm if the patient is a local case of monkeypox, she added.
The DOH continues to remind the public that proper information on the symptoms and treatment of monkeypox is the best tool for its prevention.
The agency urges the public to utilize its official social media accounts to learn more about monkeypox.
