Local government units (LGUs) are ready to address mpox (formerly monkeypox) amid the increasing number of cases in the country, according to officials on Thursday.
“We really have to coordinate with the expert on this field, which is the Department of Health (DOH),” Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said at a press conference.
“Help them immediately cascade it on the ground through the DILG and the local government units. All the health advisories and the actions that have to be done immediately,” he added.
The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) president Quirino Governor Dax Cua said that LGUs and local hospitals are ready given their experience from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ako tiwala na itong experience on COVID will help us manage. Naka-establish na po ang mga epidemiology departments ng ating health offices,” Cua said.
(I am confident that this experience on COVID will help us manage. The epidemiology departments of our health offices have already been established.)
“Nakahanda na po ang mga local na hospital at local health offices para sa kung anumang kailangang paghandaan dito sa mpox,” he added.
(The local hospitals and local health offices are ready for anything that needs to be set up for mpox response.)
So far, there are 10 confirmed mpox cases in the Philippines.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has tasked concerned agencies to continue monitoring the areas and individuals who are considered to be mostly vulnerable to mpox.
On Thursday, the Department of Health (DOH) said it already signified intent from the World Health Organization (WHO) to get access to smallpox vaccines to help protect against the mpox virus.
DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said that based on scientific findings, smallpox vaccines can provide cross-protection against mpox.
However, there is no supply of this vaccine yet in the Philippines, as the bulk of it is currently being given to African countries where there is an upsurge of mpox cases.
“Right now, ginagamit sa ibang bansa ang smallpox vaccine to respond. Pero dahil ang krisis ay nasa Africa, I think thousands of cases na ang nandoon, doon nila inuuna ang buhos ng mga bakuna,” Domingo said.
(Right now, the smallpox vaccine is being used in other countries to respond to mpox. But since the crisis is in Africa, I think there are thousands of cases there, that’s where they prioritize the distribution of the vaccines.)
Aside from mpox, Abalos and Cua said LGUs are also preparing for their response to dengue and African swine fever cases which are currently affecting some parts of the country. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
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