The Department of Health (DOH) said it is still awaiting the final report of Hong Kong authorities after a passenger of Philippines Airlines (PAL) aboard a flight to Hong Kong was found positive with the monkeypox virus.
DOH Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said they are still determining if the said individual is a Filipino national.
“Hindi po namin ma-confirm sa ngayon. Yesterday, that one of our questions at hindi pa rin kami binibigyan ng final na sagot ng Ministry of Health ng Hong Kong (We cannot confirm it at this point. Yesterday, that was one of our questions and the Hong Kong Ministry of Health still hasn't given us a final response),” said Vergeire during a television interview on Thursday, Sept. 8.
It is not yet clear if the patient contracted the monkeypox here in the Philippines, said Vergeire.
“Iyan po ang inaalam natin because if you would look at the itinerary hindi lang naman po sa Pilipinas nanggaling itong national na ito. Hanggang sa ngayon (That's what we are determining because if you look at the itinerary, this national did not only go to the Philippines. Until now), we are still waiting for the completed report coming from the Hong Kong Ministry of Health,” she said.
“Although yesterday, we were able to directly coordinate with them already also through our international regulations platform—kung saan nakapagbigay po sila ng initial na mga detalye sa amin pero hindi pa rin po kasi kumpleto (where they were able to provide us initial details but they are still incomplete) so we cannot disclose as of this time. We are waiting for the finalize report so that we can inform the public,” she added.
This patient was Hong Kong’s first confirmed monkeypox case. It was reported that this patient is a 30-year-old man and had recent travels to US and Canada aside from the Philippines.
To date, the number of confirmed monkeypox cases in the Philippines remains four.
“Currently, our surveillance is up. Tayo po ay gumagawa ng (We are doing) intensive surveillance across the country. We do not need to fear. Ang ating mga facilities ay prepared. Ang ating (Our facilities are prepared. Our local governments) are all aware of this,” said Vergeire.