Johannesburg, March 1 South Africa's National Department of Health appealed for vigilance as three new cases of monkeypox, also known as mpox, were confirmed in the country.
Foster Mohale, spokesperson for the health department, said all three cases were detected in Gauteng Province. "These are the first positive cases of mpox recorded in South Africa this year, after the last case was recorded in September 2024," Mohale noted on Friday.
The new cases include a 30-year-old male, who has been diagnosed with the Clade I mpox virus currently circulating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The patient has recently traveled to Uganda.
Two other patients, a 27-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman, were diagnosed after the outbreak monitoring team conducted contact tracing.
Mohale said the country's cumulative number of mpox cases has increased from 25 to 28, including three deaths, since the outbreak began in May last year.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, calling for a coordinated international response to stop the outbreak and save lives, Xinhua news agency reported.
South African authorities urged individuals experiencing symptoms of mpox to seek healthcare.
According to the WHO, Mpox is an infectious disease that can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain and low energy. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick.
Mpox spreads from person to person mainly through close contact with someone who has mpox, including members of a household. Close contact includes skin-to-skin and mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-skin contact, and it can also include being face-to-face with someone who has mpox (such as talking or breathing close to one another, which can generate infectious respiratory particles).
Mpox causes signs and symptoms which usually begin within a week but can start 1–21 days after exposure. Symptoms typically last 2–4 weeks but may last longer in someone with a weakened immune system.
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