Philippines posts 2 more mpox cases; total at 14
THE PHILIPPINES on Wednesday posted two more monkeypox cases, bringing the total this year to 14, as a new strain that has spread out of the Democratic Republic of Congo complicates the global response.
In a statement, the Department of Health (DoH) said the two new mpox patients were infected with a mild Clade II variant and not the newer and potentially more deadly variant that has sparked a global concern.
The patients were a 26-year-old woman from Metro Manila and a 12-year-old male from the Calabarzon Region.
“The exact circumstances of sample collection and the mechanism of close, intimate and skin-to-skin contact are still being determined,” the agency said. Two close contacts had been identified and notified.
The patient from Metro Manila started showing symptoms on Aug. 20, with rashes on her face and back, accompanied by fever, the DoH said. A day later, an outpatient clinic advised her to undergo home isolation.
She informed the clinic on Aug. 23 of having additional rashes in her pubic area, arms and trunk. She also developed a sore throat and swollen neck lymph nodes.
Meanwhile, the younger patient from Calabarzon first experienced fever on Aug. 10, leading to rashes mainly on the face, legs, trunk and pubic area, and other parts of the body. He also had a cough and swollen lymph nodes near the groin.
His skin sample was collected on Aug. 23 after consulting a rural clinic, the DoH said.
The two patients did not travel anywhere three weeks before their symptoms started. They were recovering at home, under close monitoring by local health authorities.
“Initial investigation is consistent with earlier findings of local transmission of Clade II,” the DoH said. The Philippines now has five active mpox cases, it added.
The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier this week said more research was needed to understand the spread of the disease, which is heavily linked to the clade 1A and 1B variants.
“Mpox continues to be a threat today, and an upsurge of cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries caused by Clade 1A and 1B has raised concern,” it said.
An outbreak in African countries last month prompted the declaration of a global health emergency in mid-August, and the launch of a $135-million response this week.
The DoH last week said it had signified its intent to the WHO to get access to smallpox vaccines.
Local governments in the Philippines have been on alert since the detection of the country’s first case this year. The central Philippine city of Bacolod reactivated an mpox team to monitor possible cases.
Quezon City, the country’s most populous city, has also created an mpox team, after the first mpox patient this year reported having visited at least two establishments there.
The WHO said common mpox symptoms include skin rash or mucosal lesions that can last two to four weeks, accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.
It can be transmitted through close contact with someone who has mpox, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals, it said. A mother may pass on the virus to the fetus.
“Mpox is treated with supportive care for symptoms such as pain and fever, with close attention to nutrition, hydration, skin care, prevention of secondary infections and treatment of co-infections, including HIV where present.”
Caused by an orthopoxvirus, monkeypox was first detected in humans in Congo in 1970, according to the WHO. The disease is considered endemic to countries in central and west Africa. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
