Monkeypox

(FILES) This file handout photo taken in the year 2004 and received on May 23, 2022 from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention, shows an ultrathin section electron-microscopic capture of the monkeypox virus. – The Word Health Organization called on July 1, 2022 for ‘urgent’ action to prevent the spread of monkeypox in Europe, noting that cases had tripled there over the past two weeks. (Photo by Freya KAULBARS / RKI Robert Koch Institute / AFP)

Monkeypox in South Africa: Fifth case confirmed in Gauteng

The NICD is trying to establish if there is a link between the fifth and fourth cases. Both patients recently travelled to Spain.

Monkeypox

(FILES) This file handout photo taken in the year 2004 and received on May 23, 2022 from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention, shows an ultrathin section electron-microscopic capture of the monkeypox virus. – The Word Health Organization called on July 1, 2022 for ‘urgent’ action to prevent the spread of monkeypox in Europe, noting that cases had tripled there over the past two weeks. (Photo by Freya KAULBARS / RKI Robert Koch Institute / AFP)

The Ministry of Health confirmed that the fifth case of monkeypox was confirmed in Gauteng, at a media briefing on Friday, 19 August. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) is trying to establish if there is a link between the fourth and fifth cases as both patients recently travelled to the same country.

READ: Monkeypox: Mass vaccination and lockdowns not being considered – NICD

FIFTH MONKEYPOX CASE IN SA

Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, said although monkeypox is less contagious than smallpox and COVID-19 – it also causes less severe illness than those diseases – the rising number of confirmed cases is “becoming a cause for concern and cannot be taken for granted.”

The fifth confirmed case of monkeypox was confirmed in Johannesburg, Gauteng on Tuesday, 16 August. The patient is a 28-year-old man with a recent travel history to the Netherlands and Spain in Europe.

Phaahla said the case was confirmed by a private laboratory and the samples were sent to the NICD for sequencing. Contact tracing efforts were immediately activated.

The Health Department announced the confirmation of the fourth monkeypox case on Monday, 15 August. The patient is a 28-year-old man from the Western Cape who returned from Spain in the second week of August.

READ: Fourth lab-confirmed Monkeypox case detected in South Africa

“South Africa has never recorded positive cases of Monkeypox before June 2022,” said Phaahla. Between 22 June and 17 August, the country recorded five cases.

The NICD is sure there is no link between the first four cases, however, it is trying to establish if there is a link between cases four and five as both patients have been to Spain.

Spain has recorded more than 5000 positive cases and two deaths during the current global outbreak.

The first case was found in a Gauteng man, 30, with no recent travel history on 22 June; the second case was in the Western Cape and the 32-year-old man also had no travel history on 28 June. The third case was found in a 42-year-old Swiss tourist visiting Limpopo on 10 July, he has since returned to his country and is fully recovered.

Anyone can be infected with the disease regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. However, global data suggests that people with multiple sexual partners are more at risk because one of the ways monkeypox spreads is through close physical contact.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has not recommended any travel restrictions. However, travellers from endemic countries must alert health officials to allow them to provide guidance for case detection and management.

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