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

MANILA, Aug 19 (Reuters): The Philippines has detected a new case of the monkeypox virus in the country, the first since December last year. Its health department said on Monday it was awaiting test results before being able to determine the strain.

The patient was a 33-year-old Filipino male who had no travel history outside the Philippines.

"We are awaiting sequencing results and will update once available," Department of Health (DOH) spokesperson Albert Domingo said when asked about the strain.

A case of the new variant was confirmed on Thursday in Sweden and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa. This was the first sign of its spread outside the continent. Pakistan on Friday 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 the health department has detected. Its first case was in July 2022.

"Symptoms started more than a week ago with fever, which was followed four days later by findings of a distinct rash on the face, back, nape, trunk, groin, as well as palms and soles," the Philippine DOH said in a statement.

What is Mpox?

Mpox is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions, and while usually mild, it can kill. Children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV, are all at higher risk of complications.

The WHO declared the recent outbreak of the disease a public health emergency after a new offshoot of the mpox virus, first identified in Democratic Republic of Congo, began spreading to other neighboring countries.

A laboratory nurse takes a sample from a child declared a suspected case of Mpox at the treatment centre in Munigi, following Mpox cases in Nyiragongo territory near Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo July 19, 2024.REUTERS

Mpox transmits through close physical contact, including sexual contact, but there is no evidence that it spreads easily through the air.

The new offshoot has caused global alarm because it appears to spread more easily between people.

What is a global health emergency?

A "public health emergency of international concern", or PHEIC, is the WHO's highest form of alert. It is announced when diseases are spreading in new or unusual ways and is aimed at galvanising international co-operation and funding to tackle an outbreak.

The WHO's declaration follows a similar label from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this week.

Why is mpox an emergency again?

Two years ago, the WHO declared mpox an emergency when a form of the disease, clade IIb, began to spread globally, largely among men who have sex with men.

That outbreak was brought under control after behavior change and safe sex practices, plus vaccines, helped people at risk protect themselves in many countries.

But mpox has been a public health problem in parts of Africa for decades. The first human case was in Congo in 1970, and it has had outbreaks ever since.

A doctor verifies the evolution of skin lesions on the ear of Innocent, suffering from Mpox at the treatment centre in Munigi, following Mpox cases in Nyiragongo territory near Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo July 19, 2024.REUTERS

The current outbreak is Congo's worst ever. It has recorded at least 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths since January 2023, largely among children.

There are two strains of mpox now spreading in Congo - the endemic form of the virus, clade I, and a new offshoot called clade Ib, with the term 'clade' referring to a form of the virus.

The new offshoot has now moved from eastern Congo to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Kenya.