Pretoria – A second person has died from Mpox in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) the Department of Health announced on Thursday.
In a terse statement, the department said: “Minister of Health Dr. Joe Phaahla would like to announce another laboratory-confirmed case of Mpox and second death linked to the disease”.
The death announcement comes less than 24 hours after Dr. Phaahla provided an update on the government`s efforts to curb the spread of this infectious disease.
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“The latest case/patient is a 38-year-old male patient who was admitted at a local hospital in uMgungundlovu, KZN and tested positive for Mpox on Wednesday, (12 June 2024), after presenting with extensive lesions, lymphadenopathy, headache, fatigue, oral ulcers, muscle pain, and sore throat,” the department said.
“The patient has unfortunately demised in KZN the same day his test results came back positive.
“This brings the total number of positive cases in the country from five to six and two deaths within a period of five weeks.”
The patient was living with HIV, and he listed his residential address as Brakpan, Gauteng.
The Department said it was working closely with both Gauteng and KZN Departments of Health to investigate the case.
“Sequencing results for the first three cases sequence typed as clade ll b, the same as the sub-lineage responsible for the multi-country outbreak which began in 2022 and has since spread to over 100 countries,” the department said.
Health Minister Dr. Phaahla reiterated the importance of personal hygiene, timely presenting at the health facility for early diagnosis and effective treatment in case of suspected symptoms, and close physical contact with a known case.
- Mpox is a preventable and treatable disease if diagnosed early.
- People are urged to avoid physical contact with someone who has Mpox.
- People have been urged to practice hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.
- Diagnosed cases/patients should where possible, avoid contact with immunocompromised people, children or pregnant women who may be at higher risk of severe symptoms if exposed.
