First Mpox Case of 2024 Found in the Philippines
[ Back to News Page ] Dated: 04-Dec-2024
MANILA: The Philippines has detected a new case of the mpox virus, the first since December of last year, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Monday. The department added that it was awaiting test results to determine the strain.
The patient is a 33-year-old Filipino male with no travel history outside the Philippines, the DOH stated.
"We are awaiting sequencing results and will provide an update once they are available," said DOH spokesman Albert Domingo when asked about the strain.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency, its highest level of alert, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that had spread to neighboring countries.
A new form of the virus has triggered global concern as it seems to spread easily through routine close contact.
On Thursday, a case of the new variant was confirmed in Sweden and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa, marking the first sign of its spread outside the continent. On Friday, Pakistan confirmed at least one case of the mpox virus in a patient who had returned from a Gulf country but said they did not yet know the strain of the virus.
The new case in the Philippines is the 10th laboratory-confirmed case detected by the health department. The first case was reported in July 2022.
Symptoms began more than a week ago with fever, followed four days later by the appearance of a distinct rash on the face, back, nape, trunk, groin, as well as on the palms and soles, the DOH said in a statement.
Mpox, caused by the monkeypox virus, leads to flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild but can be fatal, with children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV, at higher risk of complications.
