Two new cases of MPOX in the Philippines are milder variants

MANILA (Reuters) – Two more infections with the milder variant of the Mpox virus (clade 2) have been confirmed in the Philippines, the Health Ministry said on Monday, bringing the number of active cases to three.

“We continue to observe local transmission of Mpox clade II here in the Philippines, particularly in Metro Manila,” Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said in a statement.

The newly confirmed cases are a 37-year-old man from Metro Manila who developed a rash on his body last week and was admitted to a government hospital, and a 32-year-old man from the capital who developed skin lesions on his body.

The Philippines announced last week that a 33-year-old man who had never traveled outside the Philippines had been diagnosed with a case of the milder variant of the Mpox virus.

The three cases this year mean that there have been 12 laboratory-confirmed cases in the Philippines since July 2022.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization declared Mpox a global health crisis and the highest alert level for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that had spread to neighboring countries.

A new form of the virus has caused concern around the world because it appears to spread easily through everyday close contact.

The disease is caused by the monkeypox virus and results in flu-like symptoms and purulent lesions. It is usually mild but can be fatal. Children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, such as those infected with HIV, are at higher risk of complications.

(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by John Mair)