Dylan Bettencourt
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed on Tuesday that South Africa currently has no cases of monkeypox.
After two cases were identified in the United Kingdom on 13 May, a total of 145 cases in 15 different countries have since been confirmed.
“Of the cases with available information, males accounted for more than 70%, mostly aged between 20-55 years, and have been detected through sexual health services,” the NICD said.
The health body said that most of the cases have been shown to have mild symptoms that include rash, fever, painful lymph nodes and oral ulcers.
The NICD explained that transmission is possible between sexual partners, adding however that this has not been proven.
After a case in Portugal was shown to be of a West African strain, it has since been associated with the exportation of monkeypox from Nigeria to the UK, Israel and Singapore in 2018/19.
“Although monkeypox, which is related to smallpox (which has been eradicated), sporadically causes small outbreaks, transmission is believed to be inefficient as close contact is required,” the NICD added.
The institute emphasised that the current outbreak is unlikely to progress to a global emergency.
Most individuals recover from monkeypox within a few weeks without the need for treatment, but the NICD did warn that vaccination against the virus has been shown to add protection.
“Smallpox vaccination is being offered to higher risk contacts, but global vaccine availability is a challenge.”
NICD Executive Director Professor Adrian Puren spoke of the lessons learnt from Covid-19.
“The implications for South Africa are that the risk of importation of monkeypox is a reality as lessons learnt from Covid-19 have illustrated that outbreaks in another part of the world can fast become a global concern,” he said.
Spain is currently the country with the most monkeypox cases, 50 being confirmed thus far, with their neighbours Portugal confirming 34 cases.
Canada follows the two European nations with a total of 22 cases.
Thus far, no African country has confirmed any cases of monkeypox.
Image source: @TheJapanTimes
