Philippines detects first mpox case this year, yet to determine strain

Philippine health authorities said on Monday that a new case of the MPO virus had been detected in the country, the first since December, adding that test results were awaited before the strain could be identified.

The Department of Health (DOH) said the patient is a 33-year-old Filipino male with no history of travel outside the Philippines.

Asked about the strain, its spokesman Albert Domingo said: “We are waiting for the sequencing results and will update once they are available.”

The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared MPOX a global public health emergency, its highest level of alert, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that spread to neighboring countries.

A new form of the virus has sparked global concern because it appears to spread easily through daily close contact.

A case of a new variant linked to a growing outbreak in Africa was confirmed in Sweden on Thursday, the first sign of the virus spreading beyond the continent. Pakistan on Friday confirmed at least one case of poxvirus infection in a patient who returned from the 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 health authorities. The first case occurred in July 2022.

“Symptoms began with fever more than a week ago, and four days later a clear rash appeared on the face, back, nape of neck, trunk, groin, and palms and soles,” the Philippine Department of Health said in a statement.

The disease is caused by the monkeypox virus and causes 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.