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14 June 2024
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Mpox cases increase in South Africa with five new infections and a death
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https://www.nicd.ac.za/mpox-updates/
South Africa is facing a worrying resurgence of Mpox cases, prompting urgent calls for public awareness and preventive measures. According to the Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, the disease is caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV). This orthopoxvirus transmits from person to person through close contact and from unknown animal reservoirs in East, Central and West Africa.
The incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) for mpox is on average 7−14 days but can range from 5−21 days. Initial symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, chills and exhaustion. Within 1-3 days of onset of disease, blister-like lesions will develop on the face, the extremities including soles of the feet and palms of the hands. The lesions may however occur on other parts of the body.
The World Health Organisation stated that between 1 January 2022 and 30 April 2024, 117 countries in all six WHO regions reported a total of 97 208 laboratory-confirmed Mpox cases and 186 deaths.
Mpox is a viral infection that spreads between people and occasionally from the environment to people via objects and surfaces that a person with Mpox has touched.
South Africa has recorded a total number of five laboratory-confirmed cases and one death. Health officials confirmed two cases in Gauteng and three in KwaZulu-Natal. The death that occurred is amongst the two cases reported in Gauteng. The patient passed on on Monday, 10 June 2024, in Tembisa Hospital.
All cases involve men aged 30 to 39 who have not travelled to countries with ongoing outbreaks, suggesting local transmission of the infectious disease.
All five cases were classified as severe cases as per WHO definition requiring hospitalisation.
“The cases have co-morbidities and have been identified as key populations, Men who have Sex with Men (MSM). Thus, the Department is reaching out to organisations working on HIV programmes and with key populations and other stakeholders to implement targeted communication to intensify awareness about the outbreak and local transmission of the disease.”
Treatment
Minister Phaahla said that there is no registered treatment for Mpox in South Africa at the moment. “However, the World Health Organisation recommends using Tecovirimat (known as TPOXX) for treating severe cases, such as in individuals with a CD4 count of less than 350.”
He said the Department obtained Tecovirimat via Section 21 SAPHRA approval on a compassionate basis for the five known patients with severe disease.
Spread
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said anyone can get Mpox. It spreads from contact with infected:
Symptoms
Mpox causes signs and symptoms, which usually begin within a week but can start 1–21 days after exposure. Symptoms typically last two to four weeks but may last longer in someone with a weakened immune system.
Common symptoms of Mpox are:
For some people, the first symptom of Mpox is a rash, while others may have different symptoms first.
The WHO said the rash begins as a flat sore, which develops into a blister filled with liquid and may be itchy or painful. As the rash heals, the lesions dry up, crust over and fall off.
Sources: NICD, The South African
South Africa is facing a worrying resurgence of Mpox cases, prompting urgent calls for public awareness and preventive measures. According to the Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, the disease is caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV). This orthopoxvirus transmits from person to person through close contact and from unknown animal reservoirs in East, Central and West Africa.
The incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) for mpox is on average 7−14 days but can range from 5−21 days. Initial symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, chills and exhaustion. Within 1-3 days of onset of disease, blister-like lesions will develop on the face, the extremities including soles of the feet and palms of the hands. The lesions may however occur on other parts of the body.
The World Health Organisation stated that between 1 January 2022 and 30 April 2024, 117 countries in all six WHO regions reported a total of 97 208 laboratory-confirmed Mpox cases and 186 deaths.
Mpox is a viral infection that spreads between people and occasionally from the environment to people via objects and surfaces that a person with Mpox has touched.
South Africa has recorded a total number of five laboratory-confirmed cases and one death. Health officials confirmed two cases in Gauteng and three in KwaZulu-Natal. The death that occurred is amongst the two cases reported in Gauteng. The patient passed on on Monday, 10 June 2024, in Tembisa Hospital.
All cases involve men aged 30 to 39 who have not travelled to countries with ongoing outbreaks, suggesting local transmission of the infectious disease.
All five cases were classified as severe cases as per WHO definition requiring hospitalisation.
“The cases have co-morbidities and have been identified as key populations, Men who have Sex with Men (MSM). Thus, the Department is reaching out to organisations working on HIV programmes and with key populations and other stakeholders to implement targeted communication to intensify awareness about the outbreak and local transmission of the disease.”
Treatment
Minister Phaahla said that there is no registered treatment for Mpox in South Africa at the moment. “However, the World Health Organisation recommends using Tecovirimat (known as TPOXX) for treating severe cases, such as in individuals with a CD4 count of less than 350.”
He said the Department obtained Tecovirimat via Section 21 SAPHRA approval on a compassionate basis for the five known patients with severe disease.
Spread
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said anyone can get Mpox. It spreads from contact with infected:
- persons, through touch, kissing or sex
- animals when hunting, skinning, or cooking them
- materials, such as contaminated sheets, clothes or needles
- pregnant persons, who may pass the virus on to their unborn baby.
Symptoms
Mpox causes signs and symptoms, which usually begin within a week but can start 1–21 days after exposure. Symptoms typically last two to four weeks but may last longer in someone with a weakened immune system.
Common symptoms of Mpox are:
- rash
- fever
- sore throat
- headache
- muscle aches
- back pain
- low energy
- swollen lymph nodes.
For some people, the first symptom of Mpox is a rash, while others may have different symptoms first.
The WHO said the rash begins as a flat sore, which develops into a blister filled with liquid and may be itchy or painful. As the rash heals, the lesions dry up, crust over and fall off.
Sources: NICD, The South African