Thinking Out of the Pox

“They’ll put us on lockdown again, because of monkeypox”. Someone told me a couple of days ago, telling me about rumors.

“Good. We’ll stay home and classes will go back to modular or online.”, was my reply.

Apparently, I gave off the impression that the spread of monkeypox is alright with me. I explained that if the threat comes to an alarming level, a lockdown would be good for all of us. It would prevent the spread of the disease. Fewer people could get sick. A potential epidemic could be contained the soonest time possible. Then, public health could be maintained.

There have been reports that several localities in Mindanao encouraged the public to wear facemasks as deterrent to the spread of four confirmed mpox cases (https://newsinfo.inquirer.net). Wait a minute. Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, according to the World Health Organization, “is an infectious disease that can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain and low energy”. (I’m starting to feel itchy just thinking about this.) We went through Covid-19 with facemasks, but that was a respiratory disease; mpox isn’t. We could get covid through the nose and/or mouth. That is not how a person could get mpox. So, don’t bother with the facemasks. Maybe, those old face shields could help.

Again, according to WHO, “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)” (https://www.who.int).

Of course, public display of affection is not the norm in rural Philippines. But, our culture doesn’t have a concept of personal space. We ride on pedicabs, tricycles, jeepneys and buses in very close contact. We stand on lines in public places with a few inches between our bodies. We pass by each other on sidewalks in close proximity. Families and friends thrive on physical contact: tapping on the shoulder, high-fives, fist bumps, handshakes, akbay, beso, kissing, hugging. They’re all natural everyday gestures. Physical contact is integrated in men playing basketball and women having their hair or nails done.

On top of that, we, as a people seem to have a propensity towards challenging rules, especially new rules. (Is it just Filipinos or is it human nature across the board? But, Filipinos who have traveled out of the country can tell of smoother driving on roads, punctual public transport and passengers who queue orderly. Sure, there are abundant cases of disrespect to authority abroad, but we also have our share.) Drivers cover their plates to make it invisible to cameras which could catch traffic violations. Customers present fake PWD ID cards to get undeserved discount. Vote buying was disguised as voter education. Funds were (and most probably are currently) blatantly misused. Impeachment proceedings are delayed for some mysterious reason. Back in the days of community quarantine, many still went out of their way to defy safety protocols, going outside of their domiciles to party as if it was an itch that badly needed to be scratched. An acquaintance explained it, saying that she uncontrollably could not stand just staying at home. Yes, but…

So, if this mpox blows up, our lack of respect towards personal space plus our lack of respect towards procedures and rules could very well ramp up the rise of rashes. The facemask may be an inadequate protection for this possible viral infection. How do we face it then, not just with a mask? We could go back to social distance, which we actually did not do right before. We could do something to cover all exposed skin. Maybe, we could bring back those old face shields (Now, where did we toss those?). Maybe we could wear turtle neck long sleeve shirts with gloves, pants and socks. That would be a torment in hot and humid days. But, how effective would those be if we would go to wherever in crowded tricycles, jeepneys or buses, with our bodies profusely pressing against each other. Maybe we could go back to spraying everything with alcohol. Was spraying disinfectant on the streets effective at all? Hey, wait; these could open up some business opportunities.

Calm down from your hysterics. DOH authorities report that there is no cause for panic due to mpox. All cases have recovered. Those who have not yet recovered and are being treated are very few in number. DOH got it contained.

So, don’t be alarmed, for now.

Proverbs 3:25: “Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,”