DOH investigates data release on 4th monkeypox case

MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) is probing the fourth case of monkeypox found in the Philippines after the personal details of the patient were uploaded on social media on Tuesday.

DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire stated that the online publication of the patient’s personal information violates the person’s privacy.

“Pictures of the patient were posted on social media. This is a clear violation of our law on data privacy and Republic Act 11332, which prohibits and penalizes the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information pertaining to a patient’s medical condition,” Vergeire said.

The DOH has detected the country’s fourth case of monkeypox in a 25-year-old Filipino.

The DOH stated that it could not verify a claim that the patient who had monkeypox was from Iloilo.

According to the agency, the patient has no documented travel history to or from any country with confirmed cases of monkeypox.

“We tried tracing where the pictures came from and we were able to track the location. We have instructed the DOH regional director to investigate this,” Vergeire said.

“We are having this case investigated. We will act within our mandate and within the bounds of laws so that people should respect the privacy of a person, especially those who are suffering from illnesses,” she added.

The DOH reported that the patient has been admitted to an isolation facility.

Vergeire stated that they have not yet confirmed whether or not the fourth case is a local transmission.

“We cannot confirm yet if it is a local case. That is why we are trying to backtrace and verify information so that we can establish the source of infection,” she said.     

The DOH said 14 close contacts of the patient have been identified, with six of them placed under quarantine and one is in the isolation facility taking care of the infected patient.

According to Vergeire, the health care worker who interacted with the patient during consultation is undergoing self-monitoring.

She reported that the patient’s close contacts have not shown monkeypox symptoms.