NO NEW CASE REPORTED

DOH: Second case of monkeypox out of isolation, third and fourth still recovering

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said no additional cases of monkeypox were recorded in the country, adding that the second case of monkeypox has been discharged from isolation.

At a press briefing, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire confirmed that the reported monkeypox cases in the country are still four.

“Ang ating monkeypox cases ay still four, wala po tayong bagong detection (Our reported monkeypox cases in the country is still four, no new detection recorded). Although there are samples being submitted but all of those samples being submitted yielded negative results,” Vergeire said.

Vergeire said the second monkeypox case, a 34-year-old Filipino national who had recent travel to countries with confirmed monkeypox cases, was discharged from isolation last August 31.

The patient’s 18 close contacts were all asymptomatic for the rest of the quarantine period, according to Vergeire.

The third monkeypox case, a 29-year-old Filipino national who also traveled to countries with confirmed monkeypox cases, is still in isolation due to lesions despite the patient’s 21st day of isolation on August 31.

“Yung ating case number 3 still ongoing yung kanyang home isolation dahil meron pa rin siyang konti na lesions sa ibang parte ng kanyang katawan so until mag-heal itong lesions na ito at saka natin siya puwedeng madischarge from isolation with the assessment of course and clearance of their doctors,” Vergeire said.

(Our case number 3 is still doing home isolation because the patient still has a few lesions in other parts of the body so until these lesions heal we can discharge the patient from isolation with the assessment of course and clearance of the doctors.)

All of the patient’s 17 close contacts are asymptomatic, while 13 of them are doing self-monitoring, three have finished quarantine, and one is still undergoing quarantine.

Vergeire said the fourth monkeypox case, a 25-year-old Filipino national with no travel history to any country with confirmed monkeypox cases, is still in isolation while the patient’s lesions are starting to dry.

Of the 20 close contacts identified, 14 have finished quarantine, four are undergoing quarantine, one is doing self monitoring, and one is assisting the case in the isolation facility whose quarantine will only start when the case is discharged from isolation.

All of the 20 close contacts also remain asymptomatic, according to the DOH OIC.

The Health Department earlier reported that monkeypox is a virus transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or contaminated materials.

A viral infection resembling smallpox and first detected in humans in 1970, monkeypox is less dangerous and contagious than smallpox, which was eradicated in 1980.

The first symptoms can include a fever, headaches, sharp muscle pains, fatigue, a rash, as well as swollen and painful lymph nodes, according to an Agence France-Presse explainer. — RSJ, GMA News