Private hospitals ready for surge in monkeypox cases

MANILA, Philippines — Private hospitals are ready to handle monkeypox cases, a hospital group said yesterday.

All private hospitals accepting COVID cases have quarantine facilities that can be used to isolate patients afflicted with monkeypox, according to Jose de Grano, chief of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc.

“Information regarding symptoms of monkeypox have been relayed for our health care workers to properly monitor and detect,” De Grano yesterday said at the Laging Handa public briefing.

“Awareness and detection are vital to monkeypox cases. If a person is suspected to be infected with monkeypox, he should be isolated immediately and subjected to RT-PCR or reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test to confirm if it is monkeypox,” De Grano said.

He said health care workers in private hospitals are ready to handly monkeypox cases and have been continuously using personal protective equipment.

“Hospitals provide them with personal protective equipment, otherwise they would get infected and we will also suffer,” De Grano said.

The Department of Health (DOH) earlier reported that a 25-year-old patient is the country’s fourth monkeypox case.

People suspected of having symptoms of monkeypox such as fever, lymphadenopathy and rashes should immediately seek medical attention.