Cape Town – Health Minister Joe Phaahla has announced the death of one of the five Mpox (monkeypox) patients in South Africa at Tembisa Hospital.
All five cases involve males aged 30-39 with no recent travel history, indicating local transmission.
“In all cases, patients are males aged between 30 to 39 years without travel history to the countries currently experiencing an outbreak, which suggests there is local transmission of this infectious disease in the country,” the minister said during a media briefing on Wednesday.
[Speech] Minister Joe Phaahla on outbreak of Mpox disease in South Africa and efforts to curb the spread
Read: https://t.co/t0pIjh6XD7 #Mpoxdisease pic.twitter.com/LaQ0SsxhTo
— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) June 12, 2024
Phaahla announced that the deceased Mpox patient was originally from KwaZulu-Natal but hadn’t been home since December last year.
Phaahla revealed that the patients, classified as severe cases by WHO standards, had comorbidities and included men who have sex with men (MSM).
One patient has been discharged, one is isolating at home, and two remain hospitalied, he said.
Genetic analysis showed the Mpox clade IIb variant, dominant since the 2022 outbreak.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
