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Manila: Amid the global concern over the recent Mpox outbreak, the Philippines has detected a new case of the virus.
The Philippine Health Department confirmed this on Monday, marking the first case in the nation since December of the previous year.
The Department of Health (DOH) raised concerns as the diagnosed Filipino man had no travel history outside the country. The man began exhibiting symptoms over a week ago, starting with a fever and later developing a distinct rash on his face, back, nape, trunk, groin, palms and soles.
“The individual is a 33-year-old male Filipino national with no travel history outside the Philippines, but he had close, intimate contact three weeks before the onset of symptoms,” stated the DOH, as reported by GMA News.
The patient was admitted to a government hospital for testing. The variant of the virus has not yet been identified. “PCR test results are positive for Mpox viral DNA,” the DOH announced.
This case in the Philippines comes days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the disease a “Global Public Health Emergency,” the second such declaration in two years.
A new form of the virus has raised global concerns due to its apparent ease of spread through routine close contact. Last week, Sweden reported the first Mpox case of the new variant outside Africa.
Following the detection of the first case, the Stockholm-based ECDC warned that more imported cases to Europe were “highly likely.” “Given the close connections between Europe and Africa, we must brace for more imported clade I cases,” stated ECDC director Pamela Rendi-Wagner.
The initial outbreak of the new variant resulted in at least 450 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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