The first case of monkeypox has been identified in South Africa.
This was confirmed by the Minister of the Health Joe Paahla during a post-cabinet briefing on Thursday.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), says the case involves a 30-year-old man from Johannesburg with no travel history.
Monkeypox is a rare viral infection in humans. Since May 2022, monkeypox has been reported in more than 3 000 individuals from several European countries, the USA, Canada, Australia, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
This is the first multi-country outbreak and is already the largest recorded.
The cases to date mostly involve individuals that self-identify as men having sex with men. Risk factors include reporting multiple sexual partners. Recent large social events are thought to have served as super spreader events.
Person-to-person transmission involves close contact (for example kissing, cuddling, sexual contact) with an infected person or materials that have been contaminated by an infected person (for example sharing linen, clothes and other household items).
Monkeypox presents with an acute illness characterised by fever and general flu-like symptoms, followed by the eruption of a blister-like rash on the skin.
The disease is rarely fatal and cases typically resolve within two to four weeks.
Contact tracing with the patient is currently underway.
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