(UPDATED) The Department of Health (DOH) has detected two more cases of monkeypox in the country, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said on Friday, August 19, 2022.
Vergeire said the two new cases were aged 29 and 34 who had travel history in countries with confirmed cases of monkeypox.
The test result of the 34-year-old was released on August 18, while the result of the 29-year-old patient was released on August 19.
Vergeire said 17 close contacts of the two cases have been verified. Contact tracing is still ongoing.
The country has so far detected three cases of monkeypox.
The first case was detected in July from a 31-year-old who also traveled to a country with confirmed monkeypox cases.
Vergeire did not provide any further details about the patients.
Monkeypox transmits through direct contact, mostly through sexual contact, according to the DOH.
Among the symptoms are fever, body malaise, rashes, and swollen and painful lymph nodes.
Nearly 16,000 cases of the said virus have been detected across the world, according to the World Health Organization. (SunStar Philippines)