DOH’s Tayag: Wrong to discriminate against those infected with monkeypox

Department of Health (DOH) Director Dr. Eric Tayag said it was wrong to discriminate against patients infected with monkeypox, according to Mav Gonzales’ Saturday “24 Oras Weekend” report.

“Umiiwas tayo talaga makaroon ng stigmatization at discrimination sa kanila sapagkat mali po ‘yan. Ang panawagan ng [World Health Organization ] Director General sa kanila ay bawasan na ang kanilang multiple partners lalo na kung galing sa mga bansa kung saan nai-report na po ‘yan,” Tayag said.

(Let us avoid stigmatization and discrimination against them because that is wrong. The call of the WHO Director General is for those at risk to avoid having multiple partners, especially if they come from countries where cases have been reported.)

The WHO had explained that anyone, regardless of age or sex, can get infected with monkeypox as the illness was transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, respiratory droplets, and contact with anything contaminated with the monkeypox virus.

However, the WHO admitted that "[m]any of the cases that have been reported in this outbreak have been identified among men who have sex with men. Given that the virus is currently moving from person to person in these social networks, men who have sex with men may currently be at higher risk of being exposed if they have close contact with someone who is infectious."

But the WHO also conceded that one reason there were more reports of monkeypox cases in communities of men who have sex with men may be because of positive health-seeking behavior in this population.

The Department of Health (DOH) announced on Friday that the country recorded its first case of monkeypox.

According to Tayag, the patient was 31 years old and had a history of travel abroad.

The patient arrived in the Philippines on July 19 and tested positive for monkeypox on July 28.

The 10 close contacts of the patient have no symptoms.

Surveillance

Meanwhile, Tayag said the illness could not be caught at ports of entry to the country as monkeypox can manifest three weeks after infection.

“Pinakamaganda sa’tin ay ‘yung surveillance. Ibig sabihin, ‘yung mga kababayan natin, hindi dapat tinatago ‘yan. Kailangan n’yo i-report… Kung ‘di n’yo ire-report ‘yan, kakalat ‘yan. Hindi natin alam. Tsaka ‘yung pagre-report, ‘yun ang basehan kasi kung panahon na para magkaroon tayo ng bakuna o hindi,” Tayag said.

(The best thing we can do is surveillance. That means, our fellow Filipinos, should not conceal having symptoms. You have to report it... If you don't report it, it will spread. Besides, reporting it is the basis for us to determine whether it is time for us to have a vaccine.)

The first symptoms of monkeypox are fever, headaches, muscle pain, and back pain during the course of five days.

Rashes subsequently appear on the face, the palms of hands, and the soles of the feet, followed by lesions, spots, and finally scabs. — DVM, GMA News