By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed that the country has recorded a total of 5 laboratory-confirmed cases on Mpox and one death in Gauteng.
The 37-year-old man tested positive for Mpox (formerly known as Monkeypox) in May and was admitted to Tembisa Hospital last week Friday.
He was one of the five confirmed cases in South Africa.
Health Minister Joe Phaahla briefed the media on Wednesday morning on plans to curb the spread of the disease.
Phaahla stated that South Africa had no registered medication specific to Mpox. As a result, the DoH have obtained emergency use approval for the necessary treatment.
With the assistance of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the DoH is also seeking to procure a vaccine that has been developed to combat the virus.
Phaahla noted that the vaccine will not be procured, but that doses will be donated by donor groups and WHO member states who have existing stock piles.
There will be no mass-vaccination but pre-emptive treatment will be targeted at sex workers, health workers and laboratory workers.
People with compromised immune systems and underlying health conditions are most at risk of severe complications, with officials stating that early treatment is vital.
Head of Emerging Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), Dr Jacqueline Weyer, stated that South Africa’s five patients contracted the virus through intimate contact.
She added that 85% of cases reported, in this and the 2022 outbreak in the country, were in males who had self-disclosed as being men having sex men.
Phaahla and Dr Weyer stressed the virus was spread through skin to skin contact and could not be transmitted in the same way influenza or other aerosol infections.
Dr Weyer explained that Monkeypox, the virus that causes the Mpox disease, can see spill-over infection from animals, but asserted that there had been no zoonotic transmission in South Africa.
500 healthcare workers across the nation have received training on how to deal with patients displaying Mpox symptoms.
The DoH urged anyone displaying symptoms to get tested early and not fear any stigmatisation.
Symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes, headache and respiratory symptoms such as a sore through or nasal congestion.
The identified patients have no notable travel history and no travel alert or restrictions had been issued, considering the nature of transmission.
Although, the WHO has not recommended any travel restrictions, it is important for travellers to and from endemic countries to alert health officials on the situation to enable them to provide guidance for case detection and management.