Iloilo City has recorded its first confirmed case of monkeypox (Mpox), but no cases have been detected in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.
Dr. Mary Ann Diaz, Iloilo City Health Officer, said that as of Tuesday, May 27, one Mpox case has been laboratory-confirmed, while four additional suspected cases are being closely monitored by the Iloilo City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit.
The identified individuals are currently in isolation and receiving medical care, with all patients reported to be in stable condition, she said.
In Negros Occidental and Bacolod City there are no recorded Mpox cases, Adrian Hort Ramos, the head of the Provincial and City Department of Heath office, said.
The public is advised to follow precautionary measures against Mpox, he said.
Mpox spreads from person to person through close contact with someone who has it, including members of a household, the World Health Organization said.
Close contact includes skin-to-skin such as touching or sex, mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-skin contact such as kissing, and it can also include being face-to-face with someone who has Mpox such as talking or breathing close to one another, which can generate infectious respiratory particles, it said.
People with multiple sexual partners are at higher risk of acquiring Mpox, WHO said.
People can also contract Mpox from contaminated objects such as clothing or linen, through needle injuries in health care, or in community settings such as tattoo parlors, it added.
Common symptoms of mpox are rash, fever, sore throat, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes, WHO said.*
A Bacolod City Health Office Mpox advisory*