• 3 months ago
2 more cases of mpox recorded -- DoH

Health Assistant Secretary Albert Francis Domingo on Aug. 28, 2024 tells The Manila Times about two more cases of mpox in the country -- a 12-year old male and a 26-year old female. Domingo, however, allayed fears that mpox would be the next Covid-19 and explains the availability of vaccines for the disease in the PH.

Video by Red Mendoza

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Transcript
00:00Case 14 is a 12-year-old man, a Calabarzon.
00:04He was diagnosed with classic symptoms in our MPACS.
00:09He had a fever, which started with a fever.
00:12He had blisters on his body, which came from his hands and feet.
00:18Later on, he also had blisters on his face and head.
00:21He also had a groin area in his groin area.
00:25He also had a lymphadenopathy, which is a type of colonic.
00:30When he consulted with his rural health unit in Calabarzon,
00:35he was sent home after getting a sample.
00:39He got a sample and was sent to our laboratory,
00:43which was confirmed by PCR in our MPACS.
00:47We know that this is clade 2, not clade 1b.
00:51Based on the initial reports of contact tracing,
00:54he did not travel abroad.
00:56Even when he was in the country, he did not have a local trip.
00:59His close contacts, if I'm not mistaken,
01:02were 4 or 2.
01:05I'm confused between 14 and 13.
01:07But he had close contacts.
01:09He did not have symptoms.
01:11We are monitoring his continued improvement in his home.
01:16Case number 2 is a woman.
01:18Case 13.
01:20Case 13 is a 26-year-old woman from Metro Manila.
01:25She had almost the same sequence.
01:28She had a rash in a different area of the rash.
01:31Her rash started from her face and went down to her body.
01:36She also had a groin area in her groin area,
01:41if I'm not mistaken, in case 13.
01:43She also did not have a travel history.
01:46When we first asked him,
01:47although for further discussion and investigation,
01:51his sexual contact, if he had it or not,
01:55we asked him about that.
01:57Active cases are all clade 2.
01:59In our opinion, and the DOH has been saying this for the past week,
02:04that we have local transmission.
02:07This is, in our opinion, brutal,
02:08since our first case in July 2022.
02:14Our preventive measures when we see clade 2,
02:17we really need to avoid close, physical,
02:20intimate skin-to-skin contact.
02:22All activities that are close to the skin,
02:25including tying and other activities,
02:29should be avoided first.
02:31The good thing about our MPAX, especially clade 2,
02:34is that it will die if we wash our hands,
02:37use soap and water,
02:39or alcohol hand sanitizers.
02:43Our contact tracing is still going on
02:45together with our local government units.
02:47We can see that the surveillance is fast.
02:49We can pick up right away.
02:51So, those measures are still going on.
02:54Later on, the vaccine, we were able to request it.
02:57But the international strategy is to
03:00pour the vaccine first,
03:01then go to Africa, where our patient is.
03:04In our public, the cases we've seen of MPAX,
03:08where the patient is exposed to skin-to-skin,
03:12this is different from the COVID-19 airborne,
03:15where the patient is exposed to the air.
03:17That is the reason why the DOH continues to say
03:21that MPAX cases can be home-isolated.
03:24We don't see the need for a lockdown.
03:28And when it comes to avoidance,
03:30washing our hands is really necessary.
03:33And now, covering our skin.
03:36We're not saying stay at home.
03:37What we're saying is, as long as we cover our skin,
03:40it's better if we're wearing jackets, long sleeves, pants.
03:42Let's not wear shorts.
03:43Let's not wear skirts.
03:44Let's not wear sandals.
03:46Especially when we're going out.
03:47As for the vaccine,
03:49there's no need for a general vaccination
03:52when it comes to MPAX.
03:53Because the skin is skin-to-skin.
03:55And it's easy to determine
03:57how the patients of MPAX are infected.
04:00We'll prioritize the doctors who are looking at MPAX.
04:03Typically, the dermatologists.
04:04That's what we see in the DOH.
04:06And secondly, the so-called key populations
04:09where the infection is really strong.
04:11But we're still waiting for advice from the WHO
04:14on how to change our international vaccination strategy.