11 patients with confirmed, suspected mpox are HIV-positive

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/ 06 June) — Eleven of the 14 patients who were confined at the Southern Philippines Medical Center for confirmed and suspected mpox infections were found to have contracted Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), SPMC chief Dr. Ricardo Audan said in a press conference Wednesday.

Audan said most of the patients are male, with no significant travel history abroad except for one, and the transmissions possibly happened through skin-to-skin or sexual contact.

He said seven patients positive for mpox and HIV are currently confined in the hospital. The four other HIV-positive patients, three of who were mpox-negative, have been discharged.

“We handled 14 reported mpox cases. Seven are still admitted at SPMC. The other seven were discharged – two of them were confirmed positive and have recovered, three tested negative, one died with confirmed mpox, and another one died but tested negative for mpox,” he said.

In the same press conference, Audan urged local government units to stop implementing the mandatory wearing of facemasks as a measure against mpox.

“Mpox is not respiratory. It’s more on skin-to-skin and sexual contact for that. It’s not airborne. But you can have it through droplets if you’re too close to the patient. It’s a different droplet than airborne,” he said.

He, however, said that the SPMC encourages people to wear facemasks in crowded places or during events as an additional precaution.

“It’s not mandatory, there is nothing to lockdown, and there is nothing to worry,” he said.

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said HIV poses “a greater threat” than mpox.

The Department of Health recently reported that HIV infections in the country increased by 500 percent from January and March 2025, or an average of 57 new cases per day.

In Davao del Sur, Governor Yvonne Cagas signed on May 28 an executive order requiring the wearing of facemasks in public spaces such as schools, markets and churches, as well as crowded outdoor areas where physical distancing cannot be maintained “to control the spread of monkeypox (mpox) and other emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in the province.”

The order came following the province’s first confirmed case of mpox in Magsaysay town. As of June 6, the order has yet to be lifted.

Compostela in Davao de Oro also imposed the same measure starting May 29 after one case was confirmed in the town and three other suspected cases were recorded in the province. The order was lifted on June 2.

Mpox is a viral zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus transmitted through skin-to-skin contact with infected individuals, exposure to bodily fluids and respiratory droplets, and contact with contaminated materials.

It was initially detected in the 1970s but only declared as a public health disease of international concern in 2024.

Symptoms of mpox include rashes or lesions on parts of the body, lymph nodes, fever, loss of appetite, and severe fatigue. The disease is primarily transmitted through close contact.

However, the World Health Organization also identifies HIV symptoms, which would include rashes — along with fever, headache, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, weight loss, diarrhea,  and cough. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)