The Department of Health in South Africa has called for continued public vigilance as two new laboratory-confirmed cases of mpox have been detected in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
These recent cases mark a resurgence of the disease, with 26 days having passed since the last cases were reported.
The number of mpox cases in the country has now increased from 22 to 24. Of these, 12 cases were reported in Gauteng, 11 in KwaZulu-Natal and one in the Western Cape. The number of deaths linked to mpox remains at three.
Case 23 involves a 36-year-old man from KwaZulu-Natal, who was admitted to a local public health facility in Durban in late July.
He experienced a mpox-like rash along with symptoms such as fatigue, muscle pain, and chills. Importantly, this patient had no history of international travel, suggesting local transmission.
Case 24 is a 20-year-old man from Gauteng, who sought treatment at a private health facility in Johannesburg on Friday, August 2. He presented with typical mpox lesions and confirmed that he had recently travelled to Peru in South America.
“It is uncertain if the exposure occurred in Peru or South Africa. According to the World Health Organization multi-country mpox outbreak, Peru is amongst countries with high numbers of positive cases in the region of the Americas,” the Department of Health said in a statement.
The department urged the public to remain vigilant and report any symptoms associated with mpox, such as skin rashes, fever and muscle pain, to healthcare providers promptly.
It was monitoring the situation closely and working to prevent further spread of the disease.
“Contact tracing and monitoring activities are ongoing in the affected communities in both provinces, and the Department urges 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.”
“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,” the department added.
Meanwhile, they confirmed “the arrival of another batch of Tecovirimat, also known as TPOXX, donated by the World Health Organization as part of ongoing support for the country’s response efforts to this preventable and manageable disease”.