It was not clear if the patient had contracted the new, potentially more deadly strain of the disease, which first appeared outside of Africa last week, in Sweden.The Philippines reported its first case this year of mpox, previously known as monkeypox, on Monday, just days after the World Health Organization declared the disease a global health emergency.The Philippines Department of Health, in a statement announcing the case, did not say whether the patient was infected with Clade Ib, the newer and potentially more deadly version of the mpox virus that is dominant now in the Democratic Republic of Congo, driving a rise in cases there.It was an older strain, Clade IIb, that caused a worldwide outbreak of mpox in 2022.Last Thursday — a day after the W.H.O. declaration of a global emergency — officials in Sweden revealed that a patient there was the first person outside of Africa to be diagnosed with the new strain, setting off fears of a much wider spread. Also on Thursday, Pakistan announced a case of mpox but said it was not yet clear which strain of the disease was involved.Here is what we know.The case in the PhilippinesThe patient is a 33-year-old Filipino man with no travel history outside of the country, whose mpox infection was confirmed and reported on Sunday to the Department of Health, the department said.The man became sick more than a week ago, first with a fever, “followed four days later by findings of a distinct rash on the face, back, nape, trunk, groin, as well as palms and soles,” the department said. The patient was seen in a government hospital, where samples of his skin lesions were taken to test for genetic evidence of the virus.The Philippines’ secretary of health, Dr. Teodoro J. Herbosa, discouraged public panic by emphasizing that officials were working to make testing convenient. “Our health system is working,” he said in a statement, “we can handle the situation and will keep the public well-informed.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency over an outbreak that has spread to more than a dozen African countries.Mpox was declared a global health emergency on Wednesday for the second time in three years, as the World Health Organization urged action on a virus spreading rapidly through more than a dozen African countries.The outbreak is most severe in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has reported 15,600 mpox cases and 537 deaths, according to the U.N. agency. The mpox epidemic there has already proved more deadly than one in 2022, the last time an emergency was announced.Here is what to know about mpox, which was known as monkeypox before health officials, responding to complaints about the word, recommended its current name in 2022.What is mpox and how is it spread?The mpox virus is endemic to Central and Western Africa. The disease is similar to smallpox but less contagious, and the virus is spread primarily through close contact with infected animals or people, and the consumption of contaminated meat.Mpox can also be spread through sexual contact, and there is a risk of transmission to a fetus.Who is currently being affected?Ninety-six percent of the mpox deaths reported in June were in Congo, a country already assailed by an internal conflict and humanitarian crisis. But the disease has now been identified in 13 countries, including for the first time in the East African nations of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.There are differences between the outbreaks in various regions and countries, depending on the circumstances in each community, according to Dr. Sylvie Jonckheere, an adviser on emerging infectious diseases for Doctors Without Borders. But they share a common feature, she said: “We do not know how to control this outbreak.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.