The number of mpox cases in South Africa has risen to 24, with another two cases being confirmed at the weekend – in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal – and with outbreaks being reported elsewhere on the continent.
“One case is a 36-year-old man from KZN, with no international travel history who reported to a public health facility, and the other is a 20-year-old man who reported to a private healthcare facility in Johannesburg,” said National Department of Health spokesperson Foster Mohale.
TimesLIVE reports that the second man has international travel history to Peru, South America, but it is uncertain where the exposure occurred.
“According to the WHO multi-country mpox outbreak report, Peru is among countries with high numbers of positive cases in the Americas region,” said Mohale.
He confirmed contact tracing and monitoring were ongoing in both cases and added that of the 22 cases reported between 8 May and 16 July, 19 had made a full recovery.
The Health Department said another batch of WHO-donated Tecovirimat – the antiviral also known as TPOXX, used to treat mpox – had arrived.
Elsewhere in Africa, where medical treatment is in short supply, cases are rising.
Kenya and the Central African Republic have declared new outbreaks as African health officials scramble to stem the spread of the disease in a region lacking vaccines.
Nairobi announced a new outbreak last Wednesday, after a case was detected in a passenger travelling from Uganda to Rwanda at a border post in southern Kenya, while the CAR was the first to declare a new outbreak on Monday, saying it was spreading to its capital, Bangui.
The WHO said in November that it had confirmed sexual transmission of mpox in the DRC for the first time, and African scientists have warned that this could make the disease difficult to contain.
Africanews reports that while mpox outbreaks in the West have been contained with vaccines and treatments, they are virtually non-existent in parts of Africa, where several countries have reported outbreaks in recent months.
The worst-hit country on the continent is Congo, which has recorded more than 12 000 cases and at least 470 deaths this year in its largest outbreak.
In the CAR, where infection is more common in remote areas, authorities have called on the public to support government efforts to slow the spread of the disease.
The East African Community regional bloc also issued a statement alerting member states about the disease in Congo, which borders five countries in the region. One of them, Burundi, has already confirmed three cases.
AfricaNews article – Central African Republic and Kenya confirm outbreaks of mpox (Open access)
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