DoH logs new mpox case

One new case of mpox has been recorded in the country, the Department of Health (DoH) reported Monday. The 10th laboratory-confirmed mpox case was reported to the DoH on 18 August.

The case is a 33-year-old male Filipino with no travel history outside the Philippines, but who had close, intimate contact with one who had mpox three weeks before the onset of symptoms.

The man is currently in isolation in a government hospital in Metro Manila. The DoH said it will conduct contact tracing on the latest mpox case.

For probable or confirmed mpox cases, the DoH is recommending home isolation until “all lesions or scabs have dried up,” typically after two to four weeks.

“We recommend home isolation so the moment that a symptom appears or an individual tests positive, isolate. Not just isolation, but no close contact,” said DoH Secretary Ted Herbosa in a press conference.

“The wearing of masks is not needed. Handwashing is more important because of direct contact,” Herbosa said, noting that soap and water can kill the virus.

The DoH chief clarified that the virus that causes chickenpox is different from the one that causes mpox.

“The mpox virus is kind of related to the smallpox virus,” he said.

The DoH said the symptoms in the recent mpox case started over a week ago with fever followed four days later by a distinct rash on the face, back, nape, trunk, and groin as well as palms and soles.

The case was seen in a government hospital in Metro Manila, where specimens were collected from the skin lesions and checked via a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

Prior to this, the last case was reported in December 2023. All previous cases were isolated, cared for, and have since recovered.

Border control?

Herbosa said he saw no need for border control since the virus is already in the country, pointing out the latest case did not involve someone who had traveled outside the Philippines.

Likewise no travel restrictions will be implemented, he added.

Virus symptoms

Mpox symptoms include a skin rash or mucosal lesions, which can last two to four weeks. The rashes are accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy and swollen lymph nodes.

Mpox can be transmitted to humans through close, intimate contact with someone who is infectious, through contaminated materials like clothes or utensils, or from infected animals.

Laboratory confirmation of mpox is done by testing skin lesion material by PCR.

Dermatologists and other physicians seeing a probability of cases must record the names and contact information of their patients and guide them to the nearest major hospital.

There, the complete case data and specimens for confirmation shall be collected.

The list of hospitals includes the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, San Lazaro Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, and the UP-Philippine General Hospital, among others.

The World Health Organization on 15 August declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time since 2022.