Baguio folk urged to mask up following city鈥檚 first mpox case
PROTECT YOURSELF Most residents of Baguio City go out in public without face masks, such as these holiday shoppers at the public market on Dec 29, 2024. But there are still a number who opt for this protection in crowded areas. City officials on Monday urged locals and visitors to wear masks after Baguio confirmed its first monkeypox case. —Neil Clark Ongchangco
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The city government here has issued a public advisory urging residents and visitors to wear masks in crowded areas as a precautionary measure following the confirmation of the city’s first mpox (monkeypox) case at the start of 2025.
But because mpox is transmitted through close or even intimate physical contact, health protocols like regular hand washing or wearing of masks whenever speaking with other people are sufficient safeguards and people should not fear an outbreak, Mayor Benjamin Magalong said on Monday at the sidelines of this week’s flag-raising ceremony at City Hall.
“We have not received reports of further [mpox] cases,” he assured.
READ: Baguio records first mpox case
The first confirmed case involves a 28-year-old man who promptly sought medical attention after noticing unusual rashes.
Article continues after this advertisementMpox, caused by the monkeypox virus, presents as a flu-like ailment because of fever, runny nose, and coughs, and is similar also to chickenpox because of lesions and rashes that erupt in an infected person’s face, hands, and legs.
Article continues after this advertisementThe man provided samples for laboratory testing, and results concluded that he contracted the less lethal clade II mpox virus as of Jan. 14, prompting the activation of contact tracing protocols that were set in place during the COVID-19 global outbreak in 2020, the mayor said.
According to Magalong, he was informed about the incident on Jan. 18 and that the mpox patient, a Baguio resident, was released by a hospital with a clean bill of health on Jan. 17.
Magalong said the mpox patient acquired the disease from another individual who has been asked to provide more details about their activities by the tracking team.
The city has not revealed any more details about the gender or the locality of the person from whom Baguio’s first mpox patient may have contracted the disease.
Government sources said the mpox patient had been sexually active with this individual. The Inquirer has yet to determine if that person had also been tested or confined for treatment here or in hospitals outside Baguio.
The City Health Services Office (CHSO) and the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center have posted videos or information cards explaining mpox.
‘Skin-to-skin’
According to the CHSO posts, mpox is transmitted through “skin-to-skin” or “mouth-to-mouth” contact, including activities like sexual intercourse, from human body discharges, or by touching the property of an infected person.
It said resuming mask-wearing, particularly in crowded spaces, and extensive hand washing may be necessary.
In 2022, while the COVID-19 pandemic raged, mpox cases also triggered a global outbreak, but a vaccine has been developed and is publicly available. Medical leaders like the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine in the United States said many patients suffer mild symptoms and recover within two to four weeks on their own.
Baguio residents still habitually wear masks in public because of the prevailing flu season as seasonal temperatures drop.
Last year, government healthcare workers recorded a 248-percent rise in flu-like ailments in Baguio, or 6,049 infections compared to 1,735 patients in 2023, according to a CHSO briefing on Jan. 15.
The city’s cases of severe acute respiratory illnesses rose by 19 percent in 2024, or 1,322 patients, compared to the 1,071 patients treated in 2023, said Kimberly Sibayan, a medical surveillance officer of the city’s epidemiology unit.
