DOH on alert as Africa declares mpox emergency

The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday said that their surveillance systems are on alert following the declaration of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of a public health emergency due to mpox outbreak.

The Africa CDC on Tuesday declared a "public health emergency of continental security" over an outbreak of mpox—-formerly called Monkeypox—--that has spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighboring countries.

In the Philippines, DOH spokesperson Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo said that the total caseload of mpox remains to be nine.

Four of these cases were detected in 2022, and another five were reported last year.

“No new mpox cases have been detected in the Philippines since December 2023,” he told reporters.

In June, the DOH refuted that an individual from Central Visayas died due to mpox, emphasizing that none of the nine cases have died due to the illness which is caused by the monkeypox virus.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), symptoms of mpox include skin rash or mucosal lesions, accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.

The WHO in July 2022 declared mpox as a public health emergency of international concern. It put an end to the mpox emergency in May 2023.

READ: Monkeypox: What is it, how can you avoid it, and does it have a cure?

— RSJ, GMA Integrated News