4th monkeypox case discharged from hospital, under home isolation — DOH

The fourth case of monkeypox in the country has been discharged from the hospital and is currently under home isolation, according to the Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday.

In a report, the DOH said the patient, a 25-year-old Filipino with no travel history to any country with confirmed monkeypox cases, was discharged from the hospital on September 15.

This person tested positive for the virus after undergoing a PCR test at the DOH-RITM on August 19. The DOH did not disclose the location of the fourth case.

The department said that the patient is under home isolation “until all scabs have fallen off.”

However, no additional rashes or symptoms have been observed, it added.

The DOH said all of the 20 identified close contacts are asymptomatic.

Of the 20 close contacts, 18 have finished quarantine, one has finished the self-monitoring period, and the other one is undergoing quarantine.

The DOH said monkeypox is a virus transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or contaminated materials.

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

Among its first symptoms are a fever, headaches, sharp muscle pains, fatigue, a rash, as well as swollen and painful lymph nodes, according to an Agence France-Presse explainer.  — VBL, GMA News