ILOILO City – The Department of Health (DOH) has announced plans to conduct a series of coordination and orientation meetings aimed at increasing mpox awareness among high-risk commercial establishments across Region 6.
The initiative, spearheaded by Dr. Bea Camille Natalaray, Medical Officer IV and head of the Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Disease (EREID) division, will include health facilities, sanitary inspectors, and businesses where close skin-to-skin contact occurs, such as gyms, spas, and salons.
Natalaray emphasized the importance of recognizing the signs and symptoms of mpox, along with understanding its modes of transmission to streamline case management should a suspected case arise. “Mpox can affect anyone, but risks can be mitigated by practicing good hygiene, avoiding close contact with individuals with visible lesions, and adhering to public health guidelines,” she said.
The symptoms of mpox can range from skin rashes or mucosal lesions lasting 2-4 weeks, accompanied by fever, headaches, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.
Transmission methods include direct skin-to-skin contact, sexual contact, and through contaminated materials such as bedding, clothing, or even animal bites or scratches.
In addition to orientations, Natalaray said measures are being prepared at seaports and airports, especially with the upcoming resumption of international flights at Iloilo Airport in Cabatuan scheduled for October 27.
A preliminary coordination meeting was held last week to review referral pathways for symptomatic international travelers.
Follow-up meetings with concerned agencies, including the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Department of Tourism (DOT), Bureau of Immigration (BI), Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), and local health offices, are planned.
“We have established that our BOQ will implement symptom screening, require health declaration forms, and conduct health screenings at our ports. Should symptoms be detected, we have identified referral hospitals for potential management and specimen collection,” added Natalaray.
Further details on the implemented measures will be finalized in follow-up meetings before the international flight resumption at Iloilo Airport.
DOH-6 is particularly vigilant about preventing the entry of the mpox clade 1 variants, which have a higher case fatality rate of 10%, compared to less than one percent for clade 2 variants./PN