What you need to know about monkeypox

THE Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared the recent monkeypox (mpox) outbreak a public health emergency of national concern.

The disease has since killed at least 450 people following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), and has been found in different parts of Central and East Africa, particularly Burundi, the Central African Republic, Kenya, as well as Rwanda. 

BBC reports that there is a new variant of the disease and spreading rapidly with a high fatality rate. The chief of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has labeled the potential for further spread to Africa and to other places as “very worrying.”

He has since explained that a coordinated international response is needed in order to stop the outbreak. Jean Kaseya, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, also noted that immediate steps must be taken to contain the virus, to avoid it spiraling out of control.

In 2022, WHO also declared mpox to be a public health emergency following an outbreak of a mpox strand called “Clade 1b.”

BBC further reports that there have been over 13, 700 mpox cases in DR Congo thus far. 

According to the Philippine News Agency (PNA), the Philippines has not yet logged any new cases of the disease thus far. In total, only nine cases have been logged, the last of which was in December of 2023. 

All nine cases have since recovered, reported Department of Health (DOH) Spokesperson Albert Domingo in an interview with Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon. 

At present, GMA News Online reports that the DOH has its surveillance systems on alert due to the outbreak. 

Signs and symptoms

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mpox can be spread through close or intimate contact with someone who has the disease, such as through direct skin-to-skin contact, and contact with saliva, snot, mucus, bodily floods, or lesions around the anus, rectum, or vagina.

Direct contact may happen during sex or through the touching of the genitals of someone with mpox. It can also happen through hugging, massaging, and kissing, or even through talking to or breathing near someone. 

As per WHO and the CDC, the symptoms of mpox are the following:

• painful rashes (may look like pimples or blisters)
• enlarged / swollen lymph nodes
• fever
• chills
• exhaustion
• headaches
• muscle aches
• backache
• respiratory symptoms (ex. cough, nasal congestion, sore throat)

The CDC notes that symptoms often start to show within 21 days of being exposed to the virus, but one can spread the virus one to four days before symptoms even start to appear. 

If you start to exhibit these symptoms or feel that you may have the disease, it is best to visit a healthcare provider as soon as possible to get tested and treated for it. 

It’s also recommended to avoid close contact with others, as well as to wear a mask when you go outside to visit your healthcare provider.