PH records 1st mpox fatality since August; cases now at 52

MANILA, Philippines — The country has recorded its first fatality among the 52 mpox cases reported to the Department of Health (DOH) since August this year.

In a media forum in Quezon City on Tuesday, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa explained that the direct cause of death was not mpox but a comorbidity.

The DOH refused to disclose more details about the patient who died.

According to Herbosa, of the 52 mpox patients, 28 have already recovered as of Dec. 16. The other 23 are considered active cases with the patients in home isolation. The isolation period will end when all their lesions have healed and the scabs have fallen off.

READ: Mpox: What is it, how it spreads, care for patients

According to the DOH, the majority of mpox cases were from the National Capital Region (33). The rest were from Calabarzon (13); Central Luzon (three); Cagayan Valley (two); and Central Visayas (one).

HIV patients

A patient from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao suspected to have mpox turned out to be negative for the virus.

According to Herbosa, 30 percent of the mpox patients are people living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). “With their low immunity, they are the ones who are vulnerable to contract mpox,” he said.

The youngest was 6 months old while the oldest was 66 years old.

“But what is important is that none of the 52 mpox patients have the more severe Clade Ib variant. They are all Clade II, which is self-limiting, with patients recovering over time with little medical treatment,” Herbosa said.

Since September, the DOH decided not to regularly release its tally of mpox cases to avoid unnecessary fear and panic.

The World Health Organization in November decided to keep its alert for mpox at the highest level, as the number of cases and affected countries continues to rise.

It declared mpox a global public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) in August for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in Africa that could spread outside the continent.

Nine mpox cases in the Philippines were recorded from 2022 to 2023, during the first mpox PHEIC declaration.

There are no mpox vaccines being offered in the country as most of the available supply is being directed to African countries.