Pretoria – South Africa has recorded a fresh case of Mpox bringing the total to 25 laboratory-confirmed cases since the outbreak in May, the Department of Health revealed Monday.
The laboratory-confirmed Mpox case is of a 38-year-old man who sought medical intervention at a private medical practice in Cape Town, Western Cape.
The department said when the ailing man presented to the facility last week on Wednesday, (4 September 2024), he was experiencing typical Mpox lesions on the face, trunk, thorax, and genitals.
He was also suffering from a headache, light sensitivity, sore throat, and muscle pain.
“The patient was not admitted but urged to home-isolate while waiting for test results,” the department said in a statement on Monday, (9 September 2024).
“The results came back positive on Friday, (6 September 2024).
“According to an investigation report, the patient has no recent international travel history nor contact with a suspected or confirmed Mpox case.”
The department said the outbreak response team in the province has been activated, and contact tracing and monitoring activities were ongoing.
This new Mpox case brings the total number of positive cases recorded in the country since the outbreak in May this year to 25 cases, including three deaths.
Twelve of these were reported in Gauteng, 11 reported in KwaZulu-Natal, and now two in the Western Cape.
The patient is home isolating and in a stable condition.
“We urge all the identified and suspected contacts to cooperate with health officials during contact tracing for screening and possible diagnosis to prevent further transmission of this preventable and treatable disease,” the statement said.
“The healthcare workers understand the importance of confidentiality in managing reported and suspected cases of notifiable medical conditions.
“The risk of wider transmission remains low in the country, but anyone can contract Mpox regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation and race.”
Some of the common symptoms of Mpox include a rash that may last for two to four weeks, fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen glands (lymph nodes).
The painful rash looks like blisters or sores and can affect the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and groin.
