PH e-travel form now includes mpox screening questions, says DOH

FILE PHOTO: A health worker takes a sample at the Mpox treatment center of the Nyiragongo general referral hospital, north of the town of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on August 16, 2024. The e-travel form of the Philippines will now include screening questions that would help authorities prevent the entry of mpox (formerly monkeypox) into the country, according to the Philippine Department of Health (DOH). (Photo by GUERCHOM NDEBO / Agence France-Presse)

MANILA, Philippines — The e-travel form of the Philippines will now include screening questions that would help authorities prevent the entry of mpox (formerly monkeypox) into the country.

The Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday that travelers coming from abroad who have been sick within the past month must now indicate in their e-travel form if they experienced “rashes, vesicles, or blisters” as the government boosted efforts to curb the spread of mpox.

“To aid in preventing the entry of additional mpox cases from abroad, particularly clade Ib, there has been just one small yet significant change in the screening questions of the DOH Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) asked of travelers, as part of the electronic travel form,” it explained in a statement.

READ: Mpox: What is it, how it spreads, care for patients

“Should a traveler answer yes when asked if they have been sick in the past 30 days, the drop down list will now include the option ‘rashes, vesicles, or blisters.’ It is important for all travelers to be honest in answering this question,” it added.

Clade Ib is the sub-clade of MPXV clade I which has been described in the 1980s as having a mortality rate ranging from one percent to 10 percent.

The other type, MPXV clade II, has been observed mainly in West Africa, and it has a mortality rate of less than one percent to four percent.

The DOH explained that if the traveler is determined to be from a country with an mpox outbreak, have a history of exposure to mpox cases, or exhibit signs and symptoms of the disease, then the etravel.gov.ph system will alert the Bureau of Immigration and the DOH-BOQ.

He or she will undergo a second screening and, if ever determined to be a suspected case, be transferred to an mpox referral hospital.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among the symptoms of mpox are fever, swollen lymph nodes, muscle ache, and rashes that may be located on hands, feet, chest, face, or mouth or near the genitals.

Symptoms typically manifest 21 days after exposure to the virus.

The mpox virus can spread through contact with objects and surfaces that have not been disinfected after use by someone with mpox, the CDC also said.

READ: 2 new mpox cases reported in PH; total rises to 14

On Wednesday, the DOH reported the detection of two more mpox cases. Currently, the total number of mpox cases in the Philippines stood at 14 since July 2022.

But the DOH noted that only five of the 14 cases remain active and that the patients carry the milder type MPXV clade II.

The newly detected cases are a 26-year-old female from the National Capital Region or Metro Manila and a 12-year-old male from Calabarzon.

Both of them are currently under home isolation.