DOH Advice to Prevent MPOX: Have Virtual Sex

BE INFORMED The Department of Health (DOH) has released infographics on mpox symptoms through its website for use on 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. Video chat with a partner you trust,” the DOH said in its updated advisory on mpox. “No touching! You can choose to engage in self-pleasuring activities (masturbation) without your partner by your side.”

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

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

According to the World Health Organization, while a live virus has been detected in semen, “the extent to which the infection can spread through semen, vaginal fluids, amniotic fluid, breast milk or blood is unknown.”

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The DOH also advises people who are sexually active to be more careful, as they are at greater risk.

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“People should know their sexual partners well and find out if they have an unexplained rash. People should also limit the number of sexual partners. The risk of exposure to mpox is greater for people with multiple sexual partners,” the report said.

“Even people in monogamous relationships should be careful and disclose each other’s potential exposure to mpox,” it added.

According to the DOH, mpox can primarily spread through close contact with an infected person, including skin-to-skin contact (touching or sex), mouth-to-mouth contact, mouth-to-skin contact (kissing), or by coming face-to-face with a sick person while talking or even breathing, which can release infectious particles into the respiratory tract.