Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa. —Inquirer file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa on Wednesday said the latest detected mpox (formerly monkeypox) case in the country was a mild variant of the virus and not the more infectious and deadlier variant that is rapidly spreading in Africa.
“We are lucky because the mpox we found was the original variety, the clade II … and it’s probably circulating in our community, among Filipinos,” he said in an interview on ANC.
The Department of Health (DOH) announced on Monday its first mpox case this year, and the 10th laboratory-confirmed incident since July 2022.
READ: 1st mpox case this year is Metro Manila man – DOH
It was clade II, which is endemic to West Africa, that caused the global outbreak from 2022 to 2023. It is less severe, with an almost 100-percent survival rate.
The nine previous mpox cases in the Philippines from July 2022 to December 2023 were also clade II and all the patients recovered soon after.
However, the current upsurge of cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo is being driven by clade I, which causes more severe illnesses and has a mortality rate of about 10 percent, with most deaths occurring in children.
The country’s latest mpox case is a 33-year-old Filipino, who is a resident of an undisclosed city in the National Capital Region. who had no travel history outside of the country, but had close, intimate contact with other people three weeks before the symptoms appeared.
Herbosa said this confirmed a local transmission of the mpox virus, with authorities conducting contact tracing to determine people who could have been the source and those who could have been infected by him.
Patient’s trail
The Quezon City government said the patient availed himself of the services of a massage spa along E. Rodriguez Avenue.
According to Mayor Joy Belmonte, the patient, who is a resident of another city, went to the Infinity Spa branch on Aug. 11, where he “allegedly had sexual encounters.”
Before this, he also went to two other similar establishments in other cities in Metro Manila.
Four days later, on Aug. 15, the patient went to a dermatology clinic for consultation.
The doctor, upon his clinical assessment, noticed skin lesions on the arms, face, trunk, back, and other parts of the patient’s body and immediately coordinated with the barangay to transport the patient to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine to collect specimens.
A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test returned positive for mpox viral DNA on Aug. 18.
According to QC city epidemiologist Dr. Rolando Cruz, they have traced 41 close contacts of the patient, among them his masseur and 27 other patrons of the massage spa on Aug. 11, who were ordered to undergo mandatory home quarantine until Sept. 1.
Health authorities would call them daily to check on their status.
The other close contacts were “advised” to also quarantine at their homes and “self-monitor.”
Cruz said the dermatologist who looked into the patient was not advised to isolate because “he was not considered a high-risk close contact as he was wearing PPE during the consultation.”
As of Tuesday, Cruz said none of the patients showed symptoms, particularly lesions on their bodies.
Of the 41, only seven—three employees and four massage clients—were residents of Quezon City.
The DOH-NCR regional office has coordinated with the other cities where the patient and close contacts reside to conduct their surveillance measures.
Illegal operations
Belmonte has also ordered the closure of the Infinity Spa branch of AED Infinity Wellness Spa Inc. on E. Rodriguez for failing to renew its business permit this year.
“Based on our records, besides having no business permit, the establishment also has not secured the necessary ancillary permits, including sanitary permit, environmental clearance and fire inspection certificate,” she said.
“They are illegally operating, so there is a high probability that there are other illegal activities being conducted there,” the mayor added.
Belmonte said the workers of the spa also had no health clearance to ensure that they underwent the necessary health screenings required to be employed in an establishment under the “fun or entertainment industry.”
Three spa workers who live in Quezon City and are affected by the establishment’s closure will be provided with financial assistance from the city government.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has already ordered the continuous monitoring of areas and people who are “most vulnerable” to the virus, particularly immune-compromised persons.
Marcos met with Herbosa, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil, and other government officials in Malacañang on Tuesday to discuss the government’s measures against mpox.
“Continue the surveillance, especially in areas and on people most vulnerable to the disease,” the President said.
In a post on its Facebook and Instagram accounts, the PCO said the DOH clarified to the President that mpox “is not an epidemic like Covid-19 and is not as contagious.”