MPOX kills a second victim in South Africa

The virus that causes mpox, also known as monkeypox, is spread via intimate contact.

Less than 24 hours after the nation's first mpox-related death was confirmed, the health minister of South Africa has declared that a second person has passed away from the virus. Minister Joe Phaahla said that tests on the two males, who were 37 and 38 years old, revealed that they had died from the infection.

According to Mr. Phaahla, there have been six instances reported nationwide so far this year, with two occurring in Gauteng and four in KwaZulu-Natal. All of them were deemed serious and needed to be admitted to the hospital. The fact that all of the males who were diagnosed were between the ages of 30 and 39 and had not traveled to other nations where the sickness was on the rise suggests that the illness was spreading locally.

The virus that causes mpox, also known as monkeypox, is spread via intimate contact.

Fever, headaches, swellings, back discomfort, and aching muscles are some of the first symptoms, which might progress to a rash. In 2022, an mpox epidemic prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a public health emergency. Despite the fact that issue was resolved last year, several nations are still reporting low numbers of instances.

Mr. Phaahla said on Wednesday that "one death is too many, especially from a preventable and manageable disease," advising anybody exhibiting suspicious signs to get medical care and assist in locating contacts. According to Mr. Phaahla, the six individuals who received the diagnosis had already been afflicted with immunodeficiencies and had been ill since the beginning of May.

He said that since 2022, reports of the virus had come from more than 100 nations. Of those affected, two have been discharged from the hospital and permitted to return home. For 21 days, everybody who came into touch with a death will be under observation. According to the WHO, the illness is still widespread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the first human case was documented in 1970.