NO new case of Mpox has been recorded in the country since December last year but the Department of Health (DOH) it is on alert following Africa’s declaration of the disease as a public health emergency, Health Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said yesterday.
Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus. Commons symptoms are skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last from two to four 4 weeks, accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.
Mpox can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with infected persons or animals, and contaminated materials.
No case has been reported this year in the Philippines so far. In all, the Philippines had 9 cases — four detected in 2022, and five in 2023.
On Tuesday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared a public health emergency of continental concern for the first time ever, and on Wednesday, a panel led by the World Health Organization (WHO) met to decide if it represents a global threat.
Vaccines to help curb the escalating mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries may still not reach the central African country for months, even as the WHO considers following Africa’s top public health agency in declaring the outbreak an emergency. — Gerard Naval and Reuters
