Active mpox cases rise to 5 – DOH

MANILA, Philippines —  Active mpox cases in the Philippines are now at five after the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday reported two more cases of the infectious disease.

Confirmed mpox cases since July 2022 are now 14.

“Nine cases have long recovered and five are active cases waiting for symptoms to resolve,” the DOH said.

The two new cases are in Metro Manila and Calabarzon. Both have the milder form of the mpox virus, MPXV clade II.

The patient in Metro Manila is a female, 26, whose rashes and fever started on Aug. 20. She developed a sore throat and swollen neck lymph nodes.

“She continues to recover at home, under close and continuing monitoring by local health authorities,” the DOH noted.

The female patient had no travel history three weeks before the symptoms started and two of her close contacts do not exhibit symptoms.

In Calabarzon, a 12-year-old male patient’s symptoms began on Aug. 10. He had a fever and later developed rashes, cough and swollen lymph nodes in the groin.

The male patient also has no travel history. Other circumstances are still being verified.

More mpox cases are being detected due to heightened surveillance, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said.

“The situation strengthens our health system – we can find, test and treat mpox. We will be ready should clade Ib get here,” Herbosa said, referring to a new strain of the mpox virus.

Eastern Visayas: 4 suspected case

Four suspected mpox cases being monitored in a hospital in Eastern Visayas have not been confirmed yet, the DOH-Region 8 said.

Specimens collected from the patients in isolation were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Manila.

One of the patients is a male, 24, who suffered a two-week fever, physical weakness and vesicular rashes. He is confined in a hospital in Catarman, Northern Samar.

The male patient had no travel history. –  Miriam Desacada