Monkeypox: What is it, how can you avoid it, and does it have a cure?

Various countries in Europe, as well as Canada, the US, and the UK have reported cases of Monkeypox, a virus that manifests, among others, as lesions of the skin not unlike chicken pox.

Dr. Marissa Alejandria of the DOH Technical Advisory Group on Tuesday said monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that can be transmitted from animals to people. It is endemic or locally acquired in Africa.

On Unang Balita Wednesday, infectious disease specialist Dr. Edsel Salvana clarified that contrary to its name, monkeypox doesn't come from monkeys.

"Unang na-describe siya sa monkey, na nahawa sa rodents," he said.

"Nakukuha ang monkeypox sa rodents at napapasa sa tao at sa ibang primates," he continued.

According Salvana, monkeypox belongs to the Orthopox virus family, which includes small pox and cow pox.

Manifestations of monkeypox include flu-like symptoms and the aforementioned lesions.

Because the skin lesions are filled with the virus, direct contact is the surest way of getting monkeypox.

Salvana doesn't discount the possibility of transmission through droplets, but he said transmission [of monkeypox] through droplets isn't as efficient as, say, COVID-19. "Mas mahirap i-pasa [ang monkeypox] through droplets," he explained.

"In an airplane, if there's someone with monkeypox, the ones most at rick would be the people immediately around [the patient]. Hindi yung buong eroplano," he added.

Monkeypox is easily transmitted through direct contact. With "intact skin, mababa ang risk pero kung mucus membrane like bibig or mata, pwede."

This is why experts are considering the possibility that the new cases may be sexually transmitted. "Kasi mucus membrane," he said, though he clarified that monkeypox is not an STD.

According to Salvana, sequencing the virus remains the best way to diagnose it.

He says the smallpox vaccine is about 85% effective against monkeypox.

There aren't any cases of monkeypox in the Philippines yet and we haven't closed our borders, but the country has begun implementing stricter health screenings and heightened surveillance and border controls.

According to Health Epidemiology Bureau director Dr. Alethea de Guzman, monkeypox will be classified as a “notifiable disease,” meaning that all individuals under investigation must be reported to the Epidemiology Bureau and concerned units. — LA, GMA News