Philippines Reports 1st Monkeypox Case

The Philippines reported its first case of the monkeypox virus, detected in a citizen who returned from abroad earlier this month, a health ministry official announced on Friday.

Department of Health Undersecretary Beverly Ho stated that the 31-year-old person had recovered but was isolated at home. Meanwhile, 10 people identified as close contacts including three from the patient's household had been ordered to quarantine.

Moreover, Ho noted that the person had previously traveled to countries with documented monkeypox cases.

Around 70 countries where monkeypox is not endemic have reported outbreaks of the viral disease as confirmed cases crossed 20,300 and the World Health Organization declared the epidemic a global health emergency.

Transmission can occur through contact with skin lesions caused by the virus, as well as bodily fluids, large respiratory droplets, and contaminated bedding.

"Our (public health surveillance) systems are in place. But we all need to work together. We need also the public to be vigilant," Ho told a briefing.

"Based on what we know about monkeypox...there is a very clear need to be more careful about who we interact with, particularly sexual, intimate contact."

In May, Nigeria recorded its first death from monkeypox in 2022, declaring that the cumulative count of cases in the nation soared to 21.

Reports indicated that the dead case was identified as a 40-year-old who had underlying morbidity and was on immunosuppressive medications.

The cases were confirmed in nine states, including the federal capital territory, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC).

In a statement, the NDCD noted that there is no “evidence of any new unusual transmission of the virus, not changed in its clinical manifestation.”