Face masks are ineffective against mpox, the Department of Health said Monday, but avoiding kissing and hugging will prevent infection.

DOH spokesman Albert Domingo said face masks are not useful in fending off mpox since the virus is not airborne.

“Hindi face masks ang panangga sa mpox. Wag nilang tataasan ang presyo at wag nilang sabihin na mataas ang demand dahil DOH na ang nagsasabi na hindi ‘yan ang ginagamit sa mpox. Pwede kang mag face mask pero kung mag ki-kissing ka pa rin, hugging-hugging, makakakuha ka pa rin ng mpox,” he said in a DZMM Radyo Patrol interview.

According to the World Health Organization, mpox is a viral illness that can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain and low energy. 

Mpox spreads from person to person mainly through close contact with someone who has mpox, including members of a household.

Close contact includes skin-to-skin (such as touching or sex) and mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-skin contact (such as kissing), and it can also include being face-to-face with someone who has mpox (such as talking or breathing close to one another, which can generate infectious respiratory particles).

Domingo said Mpox is not a sexually transmitted disease but repeated the virus can be transmitted through kissing or hugging.

“Sa mpox, kahit hindi ka nagkaroon ng pagtatalik, kahit yumakap ka lang, or kahit humalik ka lang, which is strictly speaking not sex, pwede ka pa ring makakuha ng mpox. Ang importante dito ay ‘yung balat sa balat,” he said.

According to WHO, people with multiple sexual partners are at higher risk of acquiring mpox.

People can also contract mpox from contaminated objects such as clothing or linen, through needle injuries in health care, or in community settings such as tattoo parlors.

During pregnancy or birth, the virus may be passed to the baby. Contracting mpox during pregnancy can be dangerous for the fetus or newborn infant and can lead to loss of the pregnancy, stillbirth, death of the newborn, or complications for the parent.

WHO said animal-to-human transmission of mpox occurs from infected animals to humans from bites or scratches, or during activities such as hunting, skinning, trapping, cooking, playing with carcasses or eating animals. The animal reservoir of the monkeypox virus remains unknown and further studies are underway. 

NO LOCKDOWN DUE TO MPOX

The DOH has denied false information that lockdowns have been imposed due to mpox. 

While the cases of mpox are rising, DOH said these are fewer than the number recorded in 2024.

DOH underscored that there is still no case of Mpox Clade 1b, the more transmissible variant, in the Philippines. 

All cases in the country are categorized as Clade II, the mild, less transmissible variant with a lower mortality rate.