NATIONAL NEWS - Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, held a media briefing on Wednesday to provide an update on the outbreak of Monkeypox disease, also known as Mpox.
The Minister outlined plans by the department in collaboration with various stakeholders in the sector to curb further spread and prevent mortality.
Last week, the department reported that two more cases of Mpox had been detected at Addington and St Augustine Hospitals in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
There have been five confirmed cases, with two cases in Gauteng and three in KZN.
The first death came at Thembisa hospital, with the severity of that patients’ symptoms leaving them unable to swallow the necessary treatment.
The briefing was joined by experts from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and senior managers from the department.
Some common symptoms of Mpox include a rash lasting for two to four weeks, fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen glands.
The department explained that the painful rash looks like blisters or sores and can affect the face, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, groin, genital, and/or anal regions.
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