by Tshwarelo Hunter Mogakane
Pretoria - South African authorities have denied the existence of monkeypox cases rumoured to be spreading in parts of the country.
On Sunday, a concerned parent told the Pretoria News that he had spent Saturday night in and out of the Mediclinic in Mpumalanga’s capital city Mbombela, where his infant was being treated for the zoonotic virus.
“My son started acting up at night and we found that he was a bit feverish and had a rash and bumps. We drove to the Mediclinic where we were told that chickenpox was ruled out. The medical staff said this was a definite case of monkeypox but they were not allowed to say it publicly,” said the parent, who asked not to be named for fear of vilification.
The parent said he decided to take his son to the Mediclinic because other parents had already warned families in Mbombela that there was a possible outbreak of the disease as some children had already been diagnosed with the virus.
“We were told that last week scores of infants were diagnosed and treated at the Mediclinic. These children reportedly had swelling and redness around their throats. That’s why when we noticed the symptoms, especially bumps inside the throat, we decided to do the right thing. This is not as scary as chickenpox.
“We are surprised why authorities would want to hide such information because it is helpful to know where to go when your child falls ill. And trust me, the medical staff knew what they were doing because when we left, the child was better than when we arrived. The child is at home now and still under treatment,” said the parent.
When the Pretoria News was transferred to the matron at Mediclinic Nelspruit she said she was retired and could not assist with information relating to cases at the medical institution.
Chief clinical officer at Mediclinic Southern Africa, Dr Gerrit de Villiers, said no cases had been detected in any of their facilities.
“Mediclinic Southern Africa can confirm that we currently have no patients admitted with monkeypox within our hospitals,” said De Villiers.
Provincial health spokesperson Dumisane Malamule said he would double-check the information and revert back to the Pretoria News.
Limpopo provincial spokesperson Neil Shikwambana ignored messages asking whether the province had any monkeypox cases. He also did not take calls.
National Health Department spokesperson Foster Mogale said no cases had been confirmed in South Africa.
“The Department of Health is not aware of any positive case of monkeypox in South Africa. The government assures the public that the department and the NICD have heightened surveillance activities to identify and investigate any suspected case of notifiable medical conditions. We have also alerted healthcare providers and clinicians to report any suspected cases of monkeypox to the National Health Laboratory Service by sending samples for testing. So far no positive case has been confirmed and there is no need for the public to panic,” said Mogale.
According to the World Health Organization, monkeypox is a virus transmitted to humans from animals with symptoms very similar to those seen in smallpox patients.
It is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding. The incubation period of monkeypox is usually from 6 to 13 days but can range from 5 to 21 days.
“It is caused by the monkeypox virus belonging to the orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family. There are two clades of monkeypox virus: the West African clade and the Congo Basin (Central African) clade. The name monkeypox originates from the initial discovery of the virus in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958. The first human case was identified in a child in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970,” the WHO website states.
Pretoria News