ILOILO City – Get yourself vaccinated against chickenpox, the City Health Office (CHO) urged residents.
Chickenpox is also effective against monkeypox, it stressed.
Cases of monkeypox have been reported abroad. It is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox and chickenpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.
Mayor Jerry Treñas assured residents that the Department of Health is prepared to deal with this disease, and the city government would cooperate.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the virus is usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting from two to four weeks. Severe cases can occur. In recent times, the case fatality ratio has been around three to six percent.
Monkeypox is transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or with material contaminated with the virus.
It can also be transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding.
Monkeypox typically presents clinically with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications.
Treatment includes the use of antiviral agent developed for the treatment of smallpox, and vaccines used during the smallpox eradication programme also provided protection against monkeypox.
The disease was first discovered in 1958 among monkeys and the first human case meanwhile was registered in 1970 in Congo.
To date, there is no monkeypox case in the Philippines but there are 12 countries that have detected infections.
Despite the threat, the country is not keen on closing its borders yet./PN
