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One mpox patient was diagnosed after returning from a trip to Uganda and the two other were identified through contact tracing.
Picture: iStock
Three new cases of mpox have been identified in Gauteng.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed the cases on Friday. These are the first cases of mpox to be laboratory-confirmed in South Africa in 2025.
The department of health (DoH) has since asked for heightened awareness and requested anyone showing symptoms to contact their health practitioner.
Two males and one female
The first patient identified is a 30-year-old male from Ekurhuleni who recently travelled to Kampala in Uganda.
The second and third patients are two more Ekurhuleni residents, another 30-year-old male and a 27-year-old female who were identified through contact tracing.
“The [first] patient was diagnosed with Grade I Mpox virus, which is currently circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda and has been reported in travellers returning to many locations around the globe,” the NICD said.
Mpox symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, fatigue, swollen glands and a rash lasting two to four weeks.
The disease has a low fatality rate and the NICD said the three patients are self-isolating and recovering at home.
Cause of mpox spread
Mpox resurfaced in South Africa in May last year and the three new cases bring the total number of cases reported since then to 28.
“The DoH believes this development highlights the vital importance of open communication from primary cases to facilitate effective contact tracing,” the department stated.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that mpox spreads mainly through close contact with an infected person.
“Close contact includes skin-to-skin, such as touching or sex, and mouth-to-mouth, or mouth-to-skin contact,” the WHO explained.
“It can also include being face-to-face with someone who has mpox, such as talking or breathing close to one another, which can generate infectious respiratory particles,” the WHO added.
“Safer sex and personal hygiene practices are among the most effective preventative methods to control further spread of the disease,” the NICD said on Friday.
NOW READ: Mpox: health department says South Africa is safe for now
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