Dr. Teodoro “Ted” Herbosa, special adviser of the National Task Force (NTF) on COVID-19, clarified that Monkeypox does not infect members of the LGBTQ community only.

In a report by DZRH's Liezel Once on MBC Network News, Herbosa said that international studies show that 95 percent of monkeypox cases are from intimate sexual activity between two males.

However, Herbosa said that all close contacts of monkeypox patients, regardless of gender, can still be infected. “Hindi pa siya idineklara na sexually transmitted ng the World Health Organization (WHO) sapagkat ito naman, pwede kang mahawa by close contact lang. So kailangan, lalapit ka o nahawakan mo ang isang tao na may monkeypox, or nakahiga ka dun sa kama ng taong may monkeypox, pwede kang mahawaan,” Herbosa explained.

He also clarified that WHO has not yet declared monkeypox as a sexually transmitted disease or STD, but for now it is a public health emergency of international concern.

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday, July 29, reported the first case of monkeypox in the Philippines, it detected a 31-year-old Filipino citizen who arrived from abroad.