DOH: No new cases, deaths due to mpox

This composite image shows a close-up of a hand with monkeypox symptoms.

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed that there are no new cases of mpox—the current term for monkeypox—in the country following a report that someone from the Visayas region has died of the infectious disease.

“There was no patient who died due to mpox from any of the regions in the country. As of the latest report on June 8 from the DOH-RITM (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine), all those that have been tested turned out negative for mpox,” Albert Domingo, assistant secretary and spokesperson for the DOH, said in a message to reporters.

As of Monday, Domingo said the DOH has not reported any new cases on top of the nine cases the country has recorded since 2022. All nine patients have since fully recovered.

READ: Monkeypox outbreak: WHO lists common symptoms, cases, surveillance

The country detected its first mpox case in July 2022, while the last three cases were reported in December last year.

All of the nine Filipino patients have since recovered.

READ: First case of monkeypox detected in PH

Investigation underway

The clarification was made after the DOH regional office in Central Visayas said in a press conference on June 7 that it was investigating a suspected mpox case, following the death of a 27-year-old male in Negros Oriental province.

The patient, a resident of Barangay Masulog in Canlaon City, was first admitted to a district hospital on May 29 after experiencing stomach pain followed by skin rashes. He passed away on June 2.

Mpox is an illness caused by the monkeypox virus. It can be transmitted from one infected person to another by coughing or sneezing and touching contaminated objects. It can also be spread through direct, skin-to-skin contact with mpox blisters and scabs via oral, vaginal or anal sex; kissing; cuddling; and holding hands.

The disease can also be passed from an animal to a human through bites or scratches, touching the bodily fluids of or eating the meat of an infected animal.

Mpox’s common symptoms are skin rashes or lesions accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.

While there are no specific treatments for the disease, drugs that treat smallpox may be used because of genetic similarities between the viruses that cause both.

Other countries have a vaccine to prevent mpox but it is not available at the moment in the Philippines.

A global outbreak occurred from 2022 to 2023, but in May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) lifted the public health emergency of international concern on mpox, declaring it under control.

As of the latest data from WHO, a total of 97,208 mpox cases have been reported in 117 countries worldwide, with 186 deaths.