The Pretoria learner recently tested negative for Mpox.
Last week, the Gauteng Department of Education said the parents of a grade 1 pupil from Hammanskraal had told the school the child had contracted Mpox but then retracted its statement, saying health authorities needed to confirm the diagnosis.
Also read: Monkeypox/ Mpox- Here is everything you should know
According to Health Departmental Spokesperson Foster Mohale, this follows the department’s decision last week to collect samples for laboratory testing at the National Institute for Communicable Disease.
“The public is urged to report to a healthcare facility when they experience any suspicious symptoms related to Mpox, instead of self-diagnosing and isolating without laboratory confirmation.
“Working together as communities and health authorities, we can prevent unnecessary panic and avoidable stigma.”
Mohale said the country has not recorded any new cases of Mpox for the last week, and this confirms that the situation is under control.
“However, this does not mean that we are off the hook or should lower our guard, and we cannot guarantee at the current moment that this infectious disease has been eradicated and because it may re-emerge once severe cases present for healthcare.”
He said that although the virus is not highly transmissible from person to person, it has increased in global public health significance and can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, and fever.
According to the department, most people fully recover, but some get very sick.
The preliminary investigation and case findings report show that the patient has no recent travel history to countries experiencing an outbreak of the disease.
Anyone can get mpox. It spreads from contact with infected:
- persons, through touch, kissing, or sex
- animals, when hunting, skinning, or cooking them
- materials, such as contaminated sheets, clothes or needles
- pregnant persons, who may pass the virus on to their unborn baby.
Here are the symptoms:
Mpox causes signs and symptoms, which usually begin within a week but can start 1–21 days after exposure. Symptoms typically last 2–4 weeks but may last longer in someone with a weakened immune system.
Common symptoms of mpox are:
- rash
- fever
- sore throat
- headache
- muscle aches
- back pain
- low energy
- swollen lymph nodes.
For some people, the first symptom of mpox is a rash, while others may have different symptoms first.
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