By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
A fourth case of monkeypox in South Africa has been identified in a patient in the Western Cape, health minister Joe Phaahla said on Monday.
Phaahla said the patient is a 28-year-old man from the Western Cape who recently travelled to Spain.
The man returned from the European country in the second week of August.
“A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test was performed in a private pathology laboratory, and the samples were submitted to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) for sequencing analysis. Public health response measures to prevent the spread of the infection, including contact tracing, have been instituted,” Phaahla said in a statement.
The latest case follows three unlinked laboratory-confirmed monkeypox cases reported from Gauteng, Western Cape and Limpopo.
All local cases have been reported in men aged between 28 and 42. Phaahla said the first three cases had completed the self-isolation and monitoring period.
Phaahla said he would hold a media briefing on Friday to map out government’s response to the disease.
According to the NICD, the disease presents with an acute illness characterised by fever and general flu-like symptoms, followed by the eruption of a blister-like rash on the skin. The disease is rarely fatal, and cases typically resolve within two to four weeks and usually does not require hospital treatment.
The virus has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as cases surge in Europe and North and South America.