The Department of Health is urging continued public awareness against Mpox after two more laboratory-confirmed cases were detected in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Twenty-six days have passed since the last documented Mpox cases in South Africa, bringing the total to 24 cases.
Twelve of the 24 cases were reported in Gauteng, 11 in KwaZulu-Natal, and one in the Western Cape. There have been three deaths since then.
A spokesman for the Department of Health, Foster Mohale, identified case 23 as a 36-year-old man who was brought to a public health centre in Durban towards the end of July.
International travel history
Along with symptoms of fatigue, soreness in the muscles, and stiffness, the man reportedly developed a rash that looked similar to the Mpox.
“He confirmed that he has an international travel history to Peru in South America. It is uncertain if exposure occurred in Peru or South Africa,” said Mohale.
In the meantime, the World Health Organisation reported that Peru is one of the nations in the Americas with the greatest number of positive cases in the multi-country Mpox outbreak.
Contact tracing and monitoring activities are ongoing in the affected communities in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, said Mohale.
According to him, in order to stop the spread of this treatable and avoidable illness, the department strongly advises all contacts who have been identified to work with health officials in the contact-tracing process.
Donation from WHO
From the 22 cases that were reported between May 8 and July 6, Mohale revealed that 19 of them have fully recovered.
“All people with suspected symptoms are reminded to visit the nearest healthcare facility right away for clinical evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment options instead of self-diagnosis and isolation.”
He added that another batch of Tecovirimat, a medication used to treat cowpox, monkeypox, and smallpox, had been received by the department.
Said Mohale: “We would like to confirm the arrival of another batch of Tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, donated by the World Health Organisation as part of ongoing support to the country’s response efforts to this preventable and manageable disease.”
