The Philippines has identified a fresh case of the mpox virus, marking the first instance since December of the previous year, as reported by Reuters, referencing the health department on Monday. The Department of Health has stated that it is awaiting the results of tests to ascertain the specific strain. The afflicted individual was a 33-year-old Filipino man with no record of travel outside the Philippines, according to the Department. "We are awaiting the sequencing results and will provide updates once they are available," stated Albert Domingo, the spokesperson for the Department, when inquired about the strain. The World Health Organisation declared mpox a global public health emergency, its most severe alert, on Wednesday, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that had spread to neighboring countries. A new variant of the virus has raised global concerns due to its apparent ease of transmission through regular close contact.