Masha Midhath   19 August 2024 - 10:54 AM
The Philippines has identified its first case of mpox for 2024, following an absence of reported cases since December last year.

The Department of Health (DOH) revealed that the patient is a 33-year-old Filipino male with no recent travel history outside the country. The DOH is currently awaiting results from genomic sequencing to determine the specific strain of the virus.

Albert Domingo, a spokesperson for the DOH, indicated that the health department will provide updates once the sequencing results are available. This case is particularly noteworthy as it comes amid a global increase in concern over mpox. The World Health Organization recently declared mpox a global public health emergency due to an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has spread to neighboring countries.

A new variant of the mpox virus has emerged, raising alarms due to its apparent ease of transmission through routine close contact. This variant was first confirmed in Sweden last Thursday and has been linked to a growing outbreak in Africa. Additionally, Pakistan reported a case involving a patient who had returned from a Gulf country, though the strain remains unidentified.

The newly detected case in the Philippines is the 10th confirmed instance of mpox in the country, which first reported the virus in July 2022. The patient began showing symptoms over a week ago, including fever followed by a distinctive rash covering multiple body areas.

Mpox, caused by the monkeypox virus, usually results in flu-like symptoms and pustular lesions. While it is often mild, the disease can be severe for certain groups, including children, pregnant women, and individuals with weakened immune systems. The DOH continues to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates as more information becomes available.