The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the first case of monkeypox in the Philippines on Friday.
In a media briefing, Health Undersecretary Beverly Ho said the case was detected in a 31-year-old Filipino who arrived from abroad last July 19.
The patient, who had travel histories in countries with documented cases of monkeypox disease, tested positive for the infectious disease through an RT-PCR test on July 28.
According to Ho, the case has already been discharged and is undergoing strict isolation and monitoring at home.
So far, the ten close contacts, with three coming from the same household as the case, have shown no symptoms, Ho added.
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the infectious disease as a 'global health emergency.'
The WHO label – a “public health emergency of international concern” – is designed to sound an alarm that a coordinated international response is needed and could unlock funding and global efforts to collaborate on sharing vaccines and treatments.
In a report from Reuters, there have been more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox in more than 75 countries and five deaths in Africa.
The viral disease – which spreads via close contact and tends to cause flu-like symptoms and pus-filled skin lesions – has been spreading chiefly in men who have sex with men in the recent outbreak, outside Africa where it is endemic.
