The monkeypox virus. (PNA file photo)
DAVAO CITY—The City Health Office (CHO) has created the Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases Unit (ERID), which will be leading the emergency health response efforts in the event of a monkeypox outbreak in the area.
In a radio interview Monday, CHO chief Dr. Ashley Lopez said with its creation, residents can be assured that health measures have been formulated to protect them from monkeypox.
“This is the unit responsible for this kind of outbreaks and pandemics relating to emerging and reemerging diseases, so we are ready for whatever will happen,” Lopez said.
He said ERID's creation came after advisories from the World Health Organization (WHO) through the Department of Health to intensify surveillance efforts against monkeypox.
On July 23, WHO declared monkeypox as a “public health emergency of international concern.”
Lopez said the CHO has intensified its monitoring of the disease, especially after neighboring countries such as Thailand, Singapore, and India have reported cases of the disease.
“Since it has already reached three Southeast Asian countries, it is not impossible for monkeypox to enter our country,” Lopez said.
He described the mode of transmission of the disease as a “little complicated because it could be airborne and at the same time, bodily fluids.”
Lopez urged residents to be vigilant, especially that the city is starting to settle in to the new normal. (PNA)
