The health department of the Philippines announced on Monday that it had discovered a new case of the mpox virus, the first to be reported since December of last year. However, the department stated that it was still awaiting test results to identify the strain.
The Department of Health (DOH) reported that the patient was a 33-year-old male Filipino who had never travelled outside of the country.
When questioned about the strain, its spokesman Albert Domingo responded, “We are awaiting sequencing results and will update once available.”
“Philippines finds this year’s first case of mpox; strain not yet known”
In response to an outbreak of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that had spread to neighbouring countries, the World Health Organisation on Wednesday deemed the disease a global public health emergency, the highest designation possible.
A novel strain of the virus has caused concern worldwide due to its apparent ease of transmission through regular close contact.
The first indication of the new variant’s international spread was a case that was confirmed in Sweden on Thursday and connected to an expanding outbreak in Africa.
Pakistan said on Friday that they were unsure of the virus’s strain but that they had confirmed at least one case of the mpox in a patient who had returned from a Gulf nation.
The health department has discovered ten laboratory-confirmed cases, the most recent of which is in the Philippines. July 2022 saw the first instance of it.
The Philippine Department of Health stated in a statement that the illness began more than a week ago with fever and that a distinct rash on the face, back, nape, trunk, groin, palms, and soles was discovered four days later.
The illness, which is brought on by the monkey pox virus, manifests as pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms. Although generally mild, it can be fatal; children, expectant mothers, and those with compromised immune systems, like those living with HIV, are all more susceptible to complications.
Source: Reuters
