3 Ecija minors contract mpox

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines —  Three minors in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija contracted mpox in the past three months, local health officials reported yesterday.

Edwin Manabat, chief of the Cabanatuan City epidemiology and surveillance unit, said two boys and a girl, all aged 15 years, were confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Manabat said the minors have recovered and their wounds have completely dried up, a sign that they are fully healed.

He said the cases were separately discovered in March, April and May this year.

Manabat said relatives of the minors were placed under strict observation and tested negative for the virus.

None of the patients, who came from different villages and are not relatives, have travel history.

Manabat said that based on tests conducted by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, the mpox strain that infected the minors was the less fatal Grade 2.

He urged the public not to panic and instead practice proper hygiene to avoid contracting the disease.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) denied reports that new mpox cases were reported in Ilocos region.

“This is to make clear to the public that there is no confirmed mpox case currently admitted at the Region 1 Medical Center,” DOH-Ilocos director Paula Paz Sydiongco said.

Sydiongco gave assurance that there is no reason for residents to panic because there is no truth to the reported mpox case in Pangasinan.

“Be wary of fake news and social media sites that use the logo of the DOH and WHO,” Sydiongco said, referring to the World Health Organization.

Sydiongco urged the public to be vigilant and avoid spreading unverified information that may cause unnecessary panic.