Healthcare Alerts | Infectious Diseases | Mpox


Two new Mpox cases have been confirmed in SA, as the WHO convenes an emergency meeting to address the rapid rise of cases in the DRC

Source: NCID Alert ( 5 August 2024) & WHO Press Conference ( 7 August 2024)

The Department of Health has urged continued public vigilance against mpox following the detection of two new cases in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. These cases, the first in 26 days, bring South Africa's total to 24 confirmed cases, with 12 in Gauteng, 11 in KwaZulu-Natal, and one in the Western Cape.

The recent cases involve a 36-year-old man in KwaZulu-Natal with no travel history and a 20-year-old man in Gauteng who had traveled to Peru, a country with high mpox rates. The Department is conducting contact tracing and monitoring in affected communities, urging cooperation to prevent further transmission. The Department has confirmed that a new batch of the antiviral drug Tecovirimat has been received from the World Health Organization to support the ongoing response.

This comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) has called an emergency meeting in response to a surge in mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Nearly 27,000 cases and approximately 1,100 deaths, many among children, have been reported in the DRC since last September, with the virus now spreading to neighboring countries like Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the meeting will convene under the International Health Regulations to determine if the outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the highest level of alert WHO can issue. The date for the meeting has yet to be set, but WHO is treating the situation with urgency due to the potential for further international spread.

Access more articles related to Mpox

11 July 2024 | DoH confirms two new cases, bringing the total cases in the latest outbreak to twenty-two
27 June 2024 | Department of Health issues Mpox update
14 June 2024 | Department of Health urges patients to  adhere to treatments as Mpox cases increase
14 May 2024 | Calls for vigilance as new case of Monkeypox  confirmed

Access Original Press Release

5 August  2024 | Health Department Urges Vigilance as Mpox Cases Resurge

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