Marcos orders continued surveillance of people at risk of mpox

Concerned agencies have been directed to continue monitoring areas and people most vulnerable to mpox, formerly called “monkeypox.”

“Continue surveillance especially on areas and people most vulnerable to the disease,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said during a recent meeting with Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and other officials in Malacañang.

Herbosa said most vulnerable to mpox are people who are immunocompromised.

The Department of Health has recorded 10 cases of Mpox since 2023, all of which have recovered, he told Marcos Jr.

The secretary assured the President that there is no public emergency with regard to mpox, citing the low number of cases and the fatality rate of the disease. 

The common symptoms of mpox are skin lesions, which can last two to four weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.PNA