SECOND MONKEYPOX CASE IDENTIFIED IN SOUTH AFRICA

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, confirms that a second case of monkeypox has been identified through laboratory testing at the NICD on Tuesday, 28 June 2022. The case involves a 32-year-old male residing in the Western Cape Province. He reports no recent travel history. Contact tracing has commenced in order to identify any other related cases of monkeypox in South Africa. Isolation of confirmed cases allows for the prevention of transmission and interruption of the cycle of transmission. Currently, it is not known if the first and second cases are linked.

The first case of monkeypox was identified through laboratory testing at the NICD on 22 June 2022. The case involved a 30-year-old male residing in the Gauteng province. He reported no recent travel history. Contact tracing commenced, trying to identify any additional linked cases of monkeypox in South Africa.
Since May 2022, monkeypox has been reported in more than 4,000 individuals from several European countries, the USA, Canada, Australia, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. This is the first multi-country outbreak of monkeypox and is already the largest outbreak of monkeypox recorded. Person-to-person transmission involves close contact with an infected person or materials that have been contaminated by an infected person. Although the data indicates that persons with multiple sexual partners present an increased risk of acquiring monkeypox, any persons can acquire the virus if they have had close contact with an infected person. The virus is not highly transmissible and close physical contact is required for transmission.