HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque III yesterday said he sees no need yet to close the country’s borders due to the threat posed by the monkeypox virus.
However, Duque said he has ordered the Bureau of Quarantine to implement stricter surveillance measures and to monitor passengers coming from countries that have detected cases of monkeypox such as the United States, Canada, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Sweden.
“Yang pagsasara ng ating borders or stricter border control ay hindi pa yan dapat gawin sa ngayon (The closing or our borders or strict border controls is not right at the moment),” Duque told GMA’s Balitanghali.
Aside from strict monitoring, Duque said his office is also in close coordination with the World Health Organization to ensure that the virus will not enter the country.
The Philippines has yet to record a monkeypox case since the virus was detected in at least 12 other countries.
In Europe, more than 100 cases of the viral infection, which spreads through close person-to-person contact, have been reported recently.
The WHO on Sunday said it expects to identify more cases of monkeypox as it expands surveillance in countries where the disease is not typically found. It said at least 100 confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported from 12 member states that are not endemic for the virus.
Monkeypox, which mostly occurs in west and central Africa, is a viral infection that was first recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1970s. Symptoms include fever, headaches and skin rashes starting on the face and spreading to the rest of the body.
Duque allayed concerns on the transmission of the virus, saying it is different from COVID-19 which is an airborne virus.
He explained that the mode of transmission of the monkeypox virus is through direct physical contact.
“Ibig sabihin, tao sa tao, skin to skin. Pagka halimbawa, meron source yung bodily fluids, may exchange of bodily fluids (The mode of transmission is person to person, skin to skin.For example, the source is bodily fluids, when there is an exchange of bodily fluids),” he said.
Duque said one could also get the virus through sexual transmission, or when a person infected with the virus engages in sexual intercourse with another.
The US Center for Disease Control earlier said monkeypox is characterized by chickenpox-like rashes or sores at an infected patient’s skin. The CDC also said it can be transmitted or spread through contact with body fluids, sores, or shared items that are contaminated. The disease starts with flu-like symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, swollen lymph nodes, and the chickenpox-like rash.
Infectious disease expert Dr. Rontgene Solante pushed for strict adherence to health protocols such as isolation, aside from stricter screening and monitoring of travelers from countries with confirmed monkeypox cases, to prevent its spread in the country.
Solante, in several interviews, said there is no need yet for closing borders at but arrivals should be monitored and advised to consult a physician if they feel something or exhibit symptoms. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
