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A test tube labelled “Mpox virus positive”
A 40-year-old KwaZulu-Natal Midland’s man is being treated for Mpox in the Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg.
The KwaZulu-Natal Health Department says the patient visited a clinic in the city with symptoms associated with Mpox in mid-October. He was immediately transferred to the hospital.
A laboratory test confirmed he had Mpox.
The department’s Director of Environmental Health and Communicable Disease Control, Babongile Mhlongo says the case is still managed in hospital.
This year, South Africa had 12 Mpox cases of which eight were in Gauteng and two in KwaZulu-Natal.
Mhlongo says people should visit their nearest health facility if they have symptoms like fever, headache, muscle pain or a rash.
Mhlongo says the patient’s close contacts have been identified and that none of them are showing symptoms of Mpox so far.
“The important thing is to visit the nearest facility where you can get a correct diagnosis. And you can be able, where you then fit in the criteria of getting vaccines, you can get a vaccine. We do have the Mpox vaccine. And we are urging communities to go to their nearest facilities. We can arrange that you get this Mpox vaccine if you are meeting the criteria,” says Mhlongo.
While Mpox can be transmitted between people, Mhlongo has asked the public not to stigmatize everyone who has a rash which is the most common symptom associated with Mpox.
“And we are urging communities not to put stigma to anyone who is having a rash because we know there are other conditions that are presenting with rash. So, it is important that a person goes to a health facility so we can understand what kind of rash that person is presenting with,” Mhlongo explains.
