Health exec: 'Beso-beso' may pass on chickenpox

The seemingly gentle and caring summer “beso-beso" (cheek kiss) may not be as harmless as it seems – a health official said Wednesday as any physical contact with friends and kin may bring about chickenpox. National Epidemiology Center head Dr. Eric Tayag said there is a chance one of the parties in the beso-beso may have contracted chickenpox without showing the disease’s symptoms yet. “Bago lumabas ang sintomas ng bulutong nakahahawa na yan. So halimbawa lalabas ang bulutong bukas, ngayon nakipag-beso-beso siya, lahat na nabeso-beso niya na hindi pa nagkabulutong mahahawa," Tayag said in an interview on dwIZ radio. He said the disease can spread through direct contact with secretions from a rash, and a person having it can infect others up to a week before the rash appears. “Nakahahawa ang bulutong at hangga’t maari mag-ingat tayo sapagka’t makaraan ang hanggang 10 araw matapos ang [physical contact] maaring magkaroon ng bulutong," he said. Even other forms of direct contact like a handshake can cause the spread of the disease, he noted. “Ang iba magtataka kanino ako nahawa? May kasama kayo na di pa lumabas ang bulutong, nahawa kayo (You may just be left wondering where you got the chickenpox. Then it occurs to you it may have come from an infected person who happened to have the disease but had not shown symptoms yet)," he added. Heatstroke Meanwhile, Tayag reminded Filipinos to be wary of other summer diseases such as heatstroke, especially in the wake of one of the year’s hottest days, which was last Tuesday. He said Filipinos must avoid direct sunlight between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., or at least seek shade or protection from an umbrella or a cap. “Mag-ingat ang kababayan natin sapagka’t kung magpapatuloy ang ganitong antas ng temperatura maaring magkaroon pa rin tayo ng magiging biktima natin ng heatstroke," he said. — LBG, GMA News