DOH advice to prevent mpox: Have virtual sex

BE INFORMED The Department of Health (DOH) has issued through its website infographics about mpox symptoms for use in social media. —DOH PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — To prevent the spread of mpox cases in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) has urged the public, regardless of sexual orientation, to practice safer sex by avoiding physical contact.

“Go virtual. Do video calls with a partner whom you trust,” the DOH said in its updated advisory on mpox. “No touch! You may opt to do self-pleasuring activities (masturbation) without your partner by your side.”

Infectious disease expert Dr. Arthur Dessi Roman of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine said that while mpox was not yet considered a sexually transmitted disease, the virus could be spread during sex.

“Sexual activity requires close, physical and skin-to-skin contact. You may get mpox on close, intimate contact,” he said during an online forum.

According to the World Health Organization, although live virus has been found in semen, “we do not yet know the extent to which infection can spread through semen, vaginal fluids, amniotic fluids, breast milk or blood.”

The DOH also advised people who are sexually active to be more careful as they could be more at risk.

“One should know their sexual partner well and find out if they have unexplained rashes. People should also limit the number of their sexual partners. The risk of exposure to mpox is higher for people with multiple sexual partners,” it said.

“Even people in monogamous relationships should still be careful and disclose the possible exposure of each other to mpox,” it added.

The DOH said that mpox could be spread mainly through close contact with an infected person, including skin-to-skin (touching or sex), mouth-to-mouth, mouth-to-skin (kissing), or being face-to-face up close with a sick individual while talking or even breathing, which might generate infectious respiratory particles.