WE HEARD the warning raised by the Geneva-based World Health Organization on getting alert following a reported increase in cases of the mpox virus, formerly known as monkeypox, in Congo and surrounding countries.
Formerly known as monkeypox, it can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever, according to the WHO, which says although most people fully recover, some get very sick.
Mpox is caused by the MPXV species of the orthopoxvirus genus, first discovered among laboratory primates in Denmark in 1958 and later on first observed in humans in 1970.
On Aug. 14, the WHO declared the upsurge of mpox in Africa is a “public health emergency of international concern,” adding especially concerning was the spread of a new strain, clade 1b, which is considered more serious than the clade 2 strain that spread globally in the previous emergency in 2022.
Last week’s WHO warning is the highest level of global alert issued by it, which suggests the designation recognizes the potential threat the virus’s spread poses to countries around the world.
In 2023, a new strain of the Clade 1 variant was discovered in the country – known as Clade 1b. African countries are reporting both Clade 1 and Clade 1b strains.
Thailand on Thursday confirmed Asia’s first known case of a new, deadlier strain of mpox in a patient who had traveled to the country from Africa.
Cases of mpox have also been confirmed in Sweden and Pakistan, and many other countries – including the United States – are readying public information campaigns should the virus arrive on their shores.
At home, the Philippines recently detected its first mpox case – from the original variety clade 2 – this year: a 33-year-old Filipino male with no travel history, the Department of Health said on Monday, with the patient recovering in a hospital.
Currently there is no treatment approved specifically for monkeypox virus. For most patients with mpox who have intact immune systems and don’t have a skin disease, supportive care and pain control will help them recover without medical treatment.
Unlike the 2022 global mpox outbreak, which primarily affected men who have sex with men and other members of the LGBTQ community, the current outbreak in Central Africa is spreading among many different populations, including children, according to Daniel Pastula, chief of neuroinfectious diseases and global neurology at the University of Colorado Schoolof Medicine and Colorado School of Public Health.
We also heard Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa who said the mpox case detected here is a mild variant of the virus and not similar to the variant causing fatalities in Africa.
“We found the milder MPXV clade II in the 10th mpox case in the Philippines. Let us continue to be alert but not alarmed,” he said.
That should be a consolation. But let’s keep an eye out.
