DOH Confirms 2 New Mpox Cases, Total Rises to 12

 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) reported two additional cases of mpox on Monday, bringing the total to twelve confirmed cases.

The 11th case is of a 37-year-old male from Metro Manila who began exhibiting signs on August 20, including rashes on his face, arms, legs, thorax, palms, and soles. According to the DOH, this person had no known exposure to anyone experiencing comparable symptoms but admitted to having close, intimate, and skin-to-skin contact within 21 days before experiencing symptoms.

Photo by Matilda Wormwood

The patient was taken to a government hospital, and a skin sample was collected and examined at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

The 12th instance involves a 32-year-old male from the National Capital Region who showed symptoms on August 14. He also described experiencing close, intimate, and skin-to-skin contact with a sexual partner.

Local governments in the impacted areas have been alerted and authorized to release additional information and implement response actions.


"We continue to see the local transmission of mpox clade II here in the Philippines, particularly in Metro Manila. Mpox spreads through skin-to-skin contact during sexual encounters and other intimate forms of skin contact. It is not airborne," the health secretary, Teodoro Herbosa, said.