The Department of Health has called for ongoing public vigilance against Mpox disease as two more laboratory-confirmed infections have been detected in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

According to the department, the recent cases come 26 days after the last cases of Mpox were reported in South Africa.

This means that the total number of cases stand at 24, of which 12 were reported in Gauteng, 11 in KwaZulu-Natal and one in the Western Cape.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths linked to the disease remains three.

According to data, the latest case is a 36-year-old man from KwaZulu-Natal who was admitted at a local public health facility in Durban late in July after he experienced an Mpox-like rash along with fatigue, muscle pain and rigour.

‘The patient has no international travel history,’ the department explained.

The Gauteng case involves a 20-year-old man seen at a private health facility in Johannesburg on Friday, 2 August.

‘The case presented with typical Mpox lesions. He confirmed his international travel
history to Peru in South America. It is uncertain if the exposure occurred in Peru or South Africa.’

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) multi-country Mpox outbreak, Peru is among the countries with a high number of positive cases in the Americas region.

The department said contact tracing and monitoring activities are ongoing in the affected communities in both provinces.

It urged all the identified contacts to cooperate with health officials during contact tracing for screening and possible diagnosis to prevent further transmission of this preventable and treatable disease.

Meanwhile, as per data, of the 22 cases recorded between 8 May and 6 July, 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-diagnosing and isolation.’

In addition, the department confirmed the arrival of another batch of Tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, donated
by the WHO as part of ongoing support to the country’s response efforts to this preventable and manageable disease.

Source : South African Government News Agency