Monkeypox: Health authorities urge caution

The National Department of Health says two of the three people who tested positive for monkeypox in South Africa have completed their isolation periods.

Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said the patients were all men who lived in Limpopo, Western Cape and Gauteng.

He said South Africans had no need to panic given that there had only been three cases out of a population of at least 60 million people.

The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said anyone, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, could contract monkeypox if they had close contact with someone who was infected.

The NICD said the virus could be spread through close contact such as kissing, cuddling, or touching parts of the body with monkeypox lesions (wound), while touching fabrics, shared surfaces, and objects, such as bedding, towels could also spread the infection.

The initial symptoms included fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, chills, and exhaustion.

One to three days after the onset of fever, a rash which looks like pimples and then changes into a blister-like appearance appears on various parts of the body such as the face, inside the mouth, hands, feet, chest, genitals or anus.

Last week the World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern, after more than 16 000 cases were reported from 75 countries and territories.

So far, five people have died worldwide of monkeypox.

Mohale said the virus was spread through physical contact and called on anyone who suspected they might have been infected to seek medical attention immediately.

“Scientists are telling us that men having sex with men are most at risk, but anyone can be infected,” said Mohale.

He said currently there was no vaccine for monkeypox and the vaccines being administered were those used for chickenpox and smallpox.

Last week WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus said: “Although I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern, for the moment this is an outbreak that is concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those with multiple s.e.xual partners. That means this is an outbreak that can be stopped with the right strategies in the right groups.”

However, Ghebreyesus cautioned that stigma and discrimination could be just as dangerous as any virus. He called on civil society organizations, including those experienced in working with people living with HIV, to work with the WHO to fight stigma and discrimination.

-IOL

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