South Africa is facing a wave of concern over mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. A second death from the virus was reported on Thursday, 13 June, in KwaZulu-Natal, with the man tragically succumbing the same day he received a positive test result.
This comes just days after the first death from the virus occurred in Tembisa Hospital in Gauteng, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to six and raising serious concerns amongst citizens.
“Knowing that there are already reported cases in my province makes me very fearful, and I also have family members working in the public healthcare environment. I’m worried a lot about them too,” says Ndabenhle Mthembu, from Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal.
“My biggest concern about this virus is that it may become viral, like Covid-19. It seems to be a highly contagious virus, and looking at pictures of people who the virus has infected makes me realise that if it could go viral, we’d have grave repercussions.”
Mthembu adds that the age group (early 30s) of the people who have contracted the virus, adds to the fear that he already has.
“What also scares me the most is that there is no approved treatment for this virus, but it can be managed by treating the symptoms. I’m, however, happy to have a flexible job that allows me to work from home, so I try my best to keep myself isolated and avoid unnecessary interactions,” he said.
Lack of public awareness
With the first death recorded in Thembisa, Health For Mzansi speaks to a Thembisa resident Menzi Ntshangase, who expresses his concerns about the lack of public awareness about the disease.
“My biggest concern is that the monkeypox virus is little known by the public, and there is little awareness.”
Thembisa resident Menzi Ntshangase
As someone who relies on public transport, he also notes his concerns about the risk of transmission, as he states it is difficult to navigate through something they have little information about.
According to Dr Tamsin Lovelock, the infectious specialist at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, mpox is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which affects animals and people. She mentions that it is not a new disease but since 2022 it has been affecting many countries where it had not previously been described, with the most prominent symptom being a skin rash.
Now called mpox
Lovelock notes that mpox is now the preferred name for the disease caused by the monkeypox virus and that this decision was made by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to reduce the stigma around the disease.
“There have been six confirmed cases of mpox in South Africa in May and June, and all these patients had severe disease, requiring hospital treatment. Two of these patients have died. All of the patients currently identified also had co-morbidities that made them more vulnerable to mpox and its complications.
“When we look at global data, most cases of mpox are mild, and there are likely many more cases in South Africa that have not been identified because their symptoms were mild and they did not seek medical care and get tested. So we cannot assume that all cases of mpox in South Africa will be severe.”
Dr Tamsin Lovelock
She emphasises that mpox is transmitted by close contact, which means skin-to-skin contact, and the current global outbreak is strongly associated with transmission during sexual contact.
Furthermore, she highlights the common symptoms as skin lesions, which can occur anywhere on the body and usually start as small blisters.
Symptoms of mpox
“There may be only a few lesions in one area or hundreds of lesions across the whole body. The lesions can be itchy, but they are more commonly painful. The skin manifestations can look a lot like chicken pox. Other symptoms include a headache, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, and enlarged lymph glands (which appear as small lumps or bumps in the armpits, neck, or groin),” explains Lovelock.
“Mpox can look like many other things, but multiple lesions that are round, raised, and look like small blisters, are painful, or are associated with other symptoms like fever and headache should be investigated further. A rash that is flat, scaly, itchy, or gets better within a day or two probably isn’t mpox, but anyone unsure should rather reach out for medical attention.”
She also stresses that mpox can be prevented by avoiding close contact with those who are infected.
“An important part of this is identifying cases (even with mild symptoms) and tracing their contacts so that anyone who could infect others is informed and isolates themselves safely until they are no longer infectious. This is another reason that we encourage anyone who thinks they may have mpox to seek medical care.
Dr Tamsin Lovelock
“Mpox vaccines have been developed and are safe and effective, but they are not currently available in South Africa. Sourcing these vaccines is part of the outbreak response, and efforts to procure vaccines are ongoing.”
Speaking on the concerns about mpox potentially being transmitted through sexual contact, Lovelock confirms that this is possible because it can be transmitted through any close skin-to-skin contact. “Sexual transmission is possible and has been a prominent mode of transmission since the 2022 global outbreak started.”
Moreover, Lovelock strongly encourages anyone who thinks they may have mpox or has been in contact with someone with mpox to seek medical care early, as treatment is available.
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