First SA case of Monkeypox found in Gauteng
The case involves a man with no travel history, meaning the virus cannot have been acquired outside South Africa.
A 30-year-old male from Gauteng, with no travel history, has tested positive for Monkeypox, according to health minister Joe Phaahla.
Phaahla made the announcement during a briefing on the repeal of Covid-19 regulations on Thursday morning.
Phaahla said he received a report from the National Health Laboratory Services CEO on Wednesday, informing him that a case was registered in South Africa through their laboratory.
“The patient is a 30-year-old male from Johannesburg.”
Phaahla said the virus could not be attributed to having been acquired outside South Africa, due to him not having travelled abroad.
“Working with the relevant health authorities a process of contact tracing has begun.”
He said monkeypox was usually a mild disease manifesting as blisters on the skin.
“It is usually mild and self-limiting with a fatality rate of 1%.“
He said the disease was previously reported in African countries such as Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ghana in the early 2000s.
“The current outbreak is dominated by high numbers in European countries, such as UK, Spain, Germany, Portugal and France.”
He said cases had also been reported in the USA and Canada.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) was also conducting online in-service training for SA health workers to be able to detect the disease.
“The disease only spreads through close droplets so you cannot get it by being in the same room as an infected person.”
The NICD said monkeypox was rare in humans.
Since May 2022, monkeypox has been reported in more than 3 000 individuals.
“This is the first multi-country outbreak of monkeypox and is already the largest outbreak of monkeypox recorded,” it said.
It said cases to date mostly involved men.
The person-to-person transmission involves close contact such as kissing, cuddling, sexual contact with an infected person or materials that have been contaminated by an infected person.
Such materials include sharing linen, clothes and other household items.
“The virus is not highly transmissible and close physical contact is required for transmission. It does not spread similarly to influenza or the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” said the NICD.
Monkeypox symptoms are characterised by fever and general flu-like symptoms, followed by the eruption of a blister-like rash on the skin.
The NICD said the disease was rarely fatal and cases were typically resolved within two to four weeks.
“Most cases do not require hospital treatment.”
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