DOH monitoring close contacts of PAL passenger with monkeypox
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health said Friday it is closely monitoring the close contacts of a traveler who was confirmed to have a monkeypox infection.
The traveler was one of the passengers of the Philippine Airlines’ PR300 flight from Manila to Hong Kong last September 5, according to the flag carrier.
Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, officer-in-charge of the DOH, said authorities were able to identify close contacts of the patients after checking the individual’s itinerary and the flight manifest.
“We are closely monitoring them. But up until now, all are asymptomatic,” Vergeire said in a briefing.
The individual was the first case of monkeypox in Hong Kong. The monkeypox patient spent most of August in the United States, before staying in Canada for a week and then making his way to the Philippines and finally Hong Kong.
According to Vergeire, the agency is still verifying the nationality of the patient. But she stressed the individual is not a Filipino.
The Philippines has so far confirmed four cases of monkeypox.
In an update sent to reporters, the DOH said the country’s fourth case is still undergoing facility-based isolation and is “waiting for the scabs to fall off.”
Of the 20 close contacts identified, one is assisting the patient in an isolation facility, 18 have finished quarantine, and one has finished the self-monitoring period. All are asymptomatic. —Gaea Katreena Cabico with report from Agence France-Presse
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