The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday assured that all confirmed cases of Monkeypox (Mpox) in the country are the milder Clade II variant.

In a radio interview, Assistant Health Secretary Albert Domingo said that only the milder variant of Mpox has been recorded in the country.

"Clade II is the milder version. The mortality is very low when compared to Clade IB."

Domingo said that the mortality rate for Clade IB is 40 to 50 percent, while the Clade II variant only has a 1 to 10 percent mortality rate.

The mortality rate for Mpox may also be lowered depending on a country's capacity to test and care for patients.

"It can lower depending on a country's capacity to test [for Mpox] and care for patients," Domingo said.

Mpox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus which spreads through skin-to-skin contact that causes painful rash, swollen lymph nodes, fever, sore throat, muscle and back pain, headache, and low energy.

Domingo said that Mpox is a self-resolving disease which a patient can recover from within two to three weeks, despite reports of fatalities related to the virus.

"There were reported cases of deaths but they did not die from Mpox, they died from advanced HIV because they were immunocompromised," Domingo explained. Yzabela Velez-White/DMS