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Another person has died after contracting monkeypox (Mpox). This brings the number of deaths to two in South Africa, according to the Department of Health, which released the information on Thursday morning.
The latest fatality was recorded in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and the first in Gauteng. To date, six people have tested positive for Mpox.
“These cases are, almost certainly, linked to the global outbreak that has affected more than 110 countries,” said Peter van Heusden, a bioinformatician at the South African National Bioinformatics Institute at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). Van Heusden’s research focuses on the genomics of pathogens that cause infectious diseases.
He warned that concerns were rising that South Africans may not come forward if they are infected for fear of stigmatisation.
Earlier this week Health-e News approached Van Heusden for an expert opinion on the issue. According to the article, concerns were in response to the recent news that more cases of Mpox were reported in the country.
The article quoted a health departmental spokesman who said none of the patients diagnosed with Mpox had any travel history to countries facing an outbreak of the disease.
"The lack of a travel history outside the country among the reported cases suggests undetected local transmission. Mpox is a disease that is not as contagious as COVID-19 and will likely remain rare. However, the worst-case scenario is that due to stigma and fear, people do not seek treatment and fail to isolate during the infectious period," he was quoted as saying.
Mpox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it “can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick”.
It spreads from contact with infected:
This stigma is fueled by fear, anxiety, and discriminatory attitudes, which can prevent people from seeking information, testing, and care. Such barriers to healthcare access undermine public health efforts and may prolong the outbreak.
Since January 2022, there has been an ongoing multi-country outbreak of Mpox with cases reported in all of the WHO regions. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reports the highest number of cases in the WHO’s Africa region, driven by the monkeypox virus (MPXV) clade I. The virus is classified into two clades: Clade I (Congo Basin clade) and Clade II (formerly West African clade).
Van Heusden noted that the 2022 global Mpox outbreak was centred around men who have sex with men and featured clade IIb viruses. The Mpox cases reported in South Africa are of this clade.
Another person has died after contracting monkeypox (Mpox). This brings the number of deaths to two in South Africa, according to the Department of Health, which released the information on Thursday morning.
The latest fatality was recorded in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and the first in Gauteng. To date, six people have tested positive for Mpox.
“These cases are, almost certainly, linked to the global outbreak that has affected more than 110 countries,” said Peter van Heusden, a bioinformatician at the South African National Bioinformatics Institute at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). Van Heusden’s research focuses on the genomics of pathogens that cause infectious diseases.
He warned that concerns were rising that South Africans may not come forward if they are infected for fear of stigmatisation.
Earlier this week Health-e News approached Van Heusden for an expert opinion on the issue. According to the article, concerns were in response to the recent news that more cases of Mpox were reported in the country.
The article quoted a health departmental spokesman who said none of the patients diagnosed with Mpox had any travel history to countries facing an outbreak of the disease.
"The lack of a travel history outside the country among the reported cases suggests undetected local transmission. Mpox is a disease that is not as contagious as COVID-19 and will likely remain rare. However, the worst-case scenario is that due to stigma and fear, people do not seek treatment and fail to isolate during the infectious period," he was quoted as saying.
Mpox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it “can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick”.
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, and
- pregnant persons who may pass the virus on to their unborn baby.
This stigma is fueled by fear, anxiety, and discriminatory attitudes, which can prevent people from seeking information, testing, and care. Such barriers to healthcare access undermine public health efforts and may prolong the outbreak.
Since January 2022, there has been an ongoing multi-country outbreak of Mpox with cases reported in all of the WHO regions. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reports the highest number of cases in the WHO’s Africa region, driven by the monkeypox virus (MPXV) clade I. The virus is classified into two clades: Clade I (Congo Basin clade) and Clade II (formerly West African clade).
Van Heusden noted that the 2022 global Mpox outbreak was centred around men who have sex with men and featured clade IIb viruses. The Mpox cases reported in South Africa are of this clade.
