No Phl mpox cases recorded since December — DOH

No new cases of mpox have been recorded in the country since December, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday, 14 August.

"The Mpox cases count in the Philippines remains to be 9," DOH Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo told reporters in a Viber message.

Domingo said there were four cases detected in 2022, one in May 2023, one on 1 July, and three in December of the same year.

On Tuesday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention declared a "public health emergency of continental security" over an outbreak of mpox after it spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighboring countries.

According to CDC data as of 4 August, there have been 38,465 cases of mpox and 1,456 deaths in Africa since January 2022.

"DOH surveillance systems remain on alert following the recent declaration by the Africa CDC concerning Mpox," Domingo said.

"We will provide updates as they come," he added.

According to the World Health Organization, mpox is transmitted through close contact and causes rashes, flu-like symptoms, and pus-filled lesions. It is a viral zoonotic infection, meaning it can spread from animals to humans.

Most cases of mpox are mild, but it can be fatal. The disease can be dangerous for children, pregnant women, and those with suppressed immune systems.

The outbreak has swept through several African countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the virus was first discovered in humans in 1970.