Alert vs monkeypox
THE World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox, formerly called monkeypox, a public health emergency for the second time in two years.
In July 2022, an mpox outbreak in various parts of the world was declared a health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). It was lifted in May 2023.
And very quickly, the government, through the Department of Health (DOH), placed on alert its monitoring systems against mpox spread.
Reports said Bureau of Quarantine personnel would interview arriving passengers from African countries where the disease was a frightening sight.
Last Thursday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom said the upsurge of mpox cases in Congo and a number of other African nations “constituted a PHEIC.”
A PHEIC status is the WHO’s highest level of alert, a situation calling for accelerated research, funding and international cooperation to contain a disease.
It is heartening to know, however, that no new monkeypox cases have been detected in the Phiippines since December 2023.
The DOH had registered nine confirmed mpox cases in the country – four in 2022 and five last year. All the patients recovered, the reports said.
Like the Philippines, other countries are also expected to take similar actions to prevent the spread of monkeypox.
The government and the private sector ought to move in unison to ensure the health, safety and general welfare of the people.
