2 NEW MPOX CASES IN THE PHILIPPINES RECORDED IN METRO MANILA - DOH

A total of 12 mpox cases recorded in the Philippines, three are active and monitored in Metro Manila (Photo courtesy of NIAID/ABS-CBN News)

The Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed that there are two new cases of mpox (monkeypox) in the country, all from Metro Manila. The new mpox are the 11th and 12th recorded cases in the country.

According to the DOH, both patients were males and from Metro Manila, Patient 11 is a 37-year-old who was seen with rashes on his face, arms, thighs, body, palms, and soles on August 20. 

He said he had no exposure to a person with similar symptoms but admitted that he had close intimate skin-to-skin contact three weeks before the symptoms appeared. His samples were taken to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and tested positive for mpox.

Patient 12 is 32-year-old, his symptoms started on August 14, which were pimples on the groin, face, forehead, and scalp. Like Patient 11, he also admitted to close and intimate skin-to-skin contact with someone. On August 23, skin samples were taken from him at the DOH hospital he went to.

Right now, Patient 12 is in home isolation while Patient 11 is still in the hospital. Clade 2 is the type of mpox that hit the two, which is considered a milder virus. 

Meanwhile, in Catarman Northern Samar, contact tracing is also being conducted after a patient suspected of having mpox arrived at the hospital on August 24. Of the 12 total cases in the country, nine have long recovered since 2023 while the remaining three “are active cases waiting for symptoms to resolve.” 

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said, "We continue to see local transmission of mpox clade II here in the Philippines, in Metro Manila in particular. Mpox moves from skin-to-skin, both during sexual encounters and also other intimate forms of skin contact. It is not airborne.”

Herbosa advised the public to avoid close, intimate, skin-to-skin contact so as not to get mpox. Wash hands with soap and water and cover the skin. Common symptoms of mpox are a skin rash or mucosal lesions, which can last 2–4 weeks. The rashes are accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.

Source: ABS-CBN News 

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