What we know so far about the first mpox case detected in the Philippines in 2024
The first mpox case in the Philippines this year was reported by the Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday, Aug. 18, bringing the total case number in the country to 10 since July 2022.
According to the health agency, the patient is a 33-year-old male Filipino national "with no travel history outside the Philippines but with close, intimate contact three weeks before symptom onset."
His symptoms began over a week ago with fever, the DOH said in a statement, adding that it was "followed four days later by findings of a distinct rash on the face, back, nape, trunk, groin, as well as palms and soles."
He tested positive for mpox after samples from his skin lesions were collected and a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on him at a government hospital.
Patient visited 2 establishments in Quezon City
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a press conference on Aug. 21 that the mpox patient visited two establishments in E. Rodriguez before testing positive for the virus.
Noting that the individual is not a QC resident, Belmonte said he went to Infinity Spa where he allegedly had a sexual encounter last Aug. 11, three days after having fever. He noticed something different in his skin and went to a dermatology clinic for a consultation four days later. "Sa assessment ng doctor, nakitaan din ang pasyente ng skin lesions sa mukha, braso, likod at iba pang bahagi ng kanyang katawan," Belmonte said.
This prompted the dermatologist to coordinate with the barangay and transport the patient to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine immediately for some tests.
The results were released on Aug. 18 and turned out positive.
Twenty-eight out of 41 contacts of the new mpox case have been identified through contact tracing and placed in self-quarantine. Seven of them—three employees and four massage clients—are city residents.
The QC health department is closely monitoring those who have been exposed to the virus.
“Iyong masahista na directly humawak doon sa pasyente and then about 27 other clients, kinonsider nating type one kasi hindi natin ma-determine allegedly mayroong sexual encounter na nangyari doon sa spa,” QC CESU Head Rolando Cruz said, adding that the Type 1 contacts will be subjected to 21 days of quarantine to avoid transmission.
Other close contacts were advised to self-monitor and quarantine themselves in their homes.
No symptoms have been reported among the 41 contacts as of Aug. 21.
'Mild variant' of mpox
In an interview on ANC on Aug. 21, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa underscored that the latest mpox case in the country is a "mild variant" of the virus, noting that it's not the deadly one that's rapidly spreading in Africa.
"We are lucky because the mpox we found was the original variety, the Clade II, and it's probably circulating in our community, among Filipinos," he said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that Clade II is an mpox variant that caused the global outbreak in 2022. Infections from this type are "less severe" in which more than 99.9% of people survive.
The nine prior cases of mpox reported in the Philippines between July 2022 and December 2023 were similarly classified as Clade II. All patients recovered quickly.
Mpox now a global health emergency
The World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency earlier this month due to the rise in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as nearby countries.
"Today, the emergency committee met and advised me that in its view, the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). I have accepted that advice," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference on Aug. 15.
A PHEIC is the highest alarm level under the International Health Regulations.
Mpox, formerly monkeypox, is an infectious disease that "can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with someone who is infectious, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals," according to WHO. It causes fever, muscle aches, and large boil-like skin lesions, among others.