DOH: Mpox cases in PH this year reaches 18
Metro Manila, Philippines — The country has recorded 18 cases of mpox this year amid heightened monitoring, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Monday, Sept. 16.
In a briefing, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said five have recovered, while 13 were considered still active.
“Ang maganda rin lahat nong 18 na napick-up namin, as of now, wala pang nahawang iba,” Herbosa said. “Wala silang tinatawag na epidemiological link. Ibig sabihin no’n, if na-isolate namin sila, humihinto ‘yong pag-transmit ng sakit.”
[Translation: The good thing is all 18 recorded cases, as of now, have not transmitted the disease to others. They don’t have what we call the epidemiological link. This means, once isolated, the transmission of the disease stops.]
The country has logged 27 mpox infections since July 2022. No deaths so far.
They were caused by the milder type clade II and not clade Ib. The latter strain is behind the current outbreak in Africa, prompting the second declaration of a global health emergency for mpox in August.
Herbosa advised the public against supposed “imported” mpox vaccines as these are not yet available in the country.
Mpox causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild but could be fatal. It usually spreads through close, intimate, skin to skin contact.
Dermatologists could distinguish the skin lesions of a person infected with mpox compared with similar diseases like measles and chickenpox.
Herbosa said the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City is also ready to conduct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for mpox.
The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa has been the sole recipient of samples since the DOH began ramping up its monitoring efforts against the illness.
Herbosa said the following government hospitals are training for reactivation of mpox testing: Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, San Lazaro Hospital, Vicente Sotto Medical Center, Southern Philippines Medical Center, Western Visayas Medical Center, and Bicol Medical Center.
