MANILA, Philippines – After the World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox as a global health emergency, the Department of Health (DOH) recorded the Philippines’ first case of the disease in 2024 on Aug. 18.

DOH logged ten mpox cases as of Aug. 22, of which the previous reported case was last December 2023.

Patients who were recorded to have mpox last year were reportedly to have been recovered.

A 33-year-old man with no travel history was examined through a real-time polymerase chain reaction test. He was reported to have skin lesions on the face, back, and other parts of the body, which prompted him to consult a dermatologist. On Aug. 11, the man with mpox also went to Infinity Spa in E. Rodriguez Ave., Quezon City and had a sexual encounter with a spa client.

Quezon City Epidemiology and Surveillance Division Chief Dr. Rolly Cruz said that 41 individuals were identified in contact with the patient, including employees and clients of the spa and clinic.

Since the Office of the Secretary-General advised Thomasians about mpox and its safety precautions, here are the details about the disease.

What is mpox?

Mpox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which leads to skin rashes and fever. It belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus under the Poxviridae family, which also includes the causative agent of smallpox (variola virus).

The WHO renamed monkeypox to mpox in 2022 due to “racist and stigmatizing language in social media”

According to the international health agency, a person may get mpox through:

• touching, kissing, or sex;
• animals, when hunting, skinning, or cooking them;
• contaminated sheets, clothes, or needles; and
• pregnant women that may pass the virus to their unborn baby.

The common symptoms of the disease are:

• fever;
• rash;
• sore throat;
• muscle aches;
• headache;
• low energy;
• back pain; and
• swollen lymph nodes.

Onset of symptoms may occur within two to four weeks which varies per infected person.

The rash is a common symptom that turns into a painful and itchy blister filled with liquid that may occur on the palms, feet, soles, face, mouth, throat, anus, groin, and genital areas. Lesions dry, crust over, and fall off during healing.

Infectious people may pass the disease until all sores are healed and a new skin layer is formed.

Some people may experience painful rectum swelling or pain and difficulty during urination.

An mpox carrier can also contract chickenpox, measles, bacterial skin infections, sexually transmissible infections like syphilis, and may experience any medication associated-allergies alongside the disease. These diseases are different from each other and are detrimental to children, pregnant people, and people with weak immune systems.

What to do if you have mpox?

The international health agency shared how infected people treat mpox through the following:

• stay home or inside your room;
• properly wash your hands with soap and water;
• cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing;
• wear a mask and cover lesions when around other people until your rash heals;
• keep skin dry and uncovered, unless in a room with someone else;
• avoid touching items in shared spaces and disinfect them frequently;
• do saltwater rinses for sores in the mouth;
• take warm baths with baking soda for body sores; and
• take over-the-counter medications for pain like ibuprofen or paracetamol.

The patient must not pop blisters, scratch, and shave areas with sores since it slows healing and spreads the rash to other body parts.

Patients are also encouraged to visit their healthcare provider to help them with the disease.

How to prevent mpox?

Here are ways to prevent mpox spread:

• refrain close contact with suspected rashes that look like mpox;
• avoid handling clothes, sheets, blankets or other materials that have been in contact with an infected animal or person;
• isolate mpox carriers uninfected people;
• wash hands with soap and water, alcohol, or hand sanitizer after contact with an infected person or animal; and
• avoid animals that may carry the virus.

Mpox vaccination

WHO does not recommend mass vaccinations yet, but people with close contact with an mpox patient must be given a vaccine within four or 14 days with no symptoms.

Health workers, people with multiple sex partners, men who have sex with men, and sex workers must get vaccinated since they have a high risk of contracting the disease.

As of August 2024, The MVA-BN vaccine, also known as Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic, is the sole vaccine approved against mpox in the EU/EEA, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Switzerland.

The vaccine contains a weakened vaccinia virus strain, one of the viruses from the Orthopoxvirus genus.

MVA vaccines were developed in Germany in the 1950s and 1960s, and were initially used against smallpox.

During the 2022 mpox outbreak, the WHO also listed two vaccines: Japan's LC16 smallpox vaccine and Russia's OrthopoxVac.

ACAM2000, a vaccine that contains live vaccinia virus, is recommended for people at risk of Orthopoxvirus in the United States and Australia.

A mRNA vaccine called BNT166 that targets antigens on the mpox virus is now under clinical evaluation.

Types of mpox

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two types of mpox are categorized as Clades I and II.

Clade I is found in Central Africa, causing severe illness and killing up to 10% of those who get sick. Recent outbreaks of this type have now caused lower death rates.

Clade II caused a global outbreak that started in 2022, in which mpox is reportedly less severe and has a 99.9% survival rate.

The first case reported this year was under the Clade II classification, according to DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa to Agence France-Presse on Aug. 21.

Mpox was discovered in Denmark in 1958 in monkeys used for research.

The first human mpox case was a nine-month-old boy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Despite the eradication and worldwide vaccination of smallpox in 1980, mpox steadily emerged in West, Central, and East Africa.