JOHANNESBURG, July 5 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's National Department of Health has confirmed that the total number of monkeypox cases has climbed to 20.
The department was expecting to receive more monkeypox, or mpox, treatment medicine known as Tecovirimat, an antiviral drug, to arrive from abroad in the coming weeks, as it anticipated a surge in new cases of the disease, the department's spokesperson Foster Mohale told Xinhua Friday.
Ten cases were recorded in Gauteng Province, as nine cases were in KwaZulu-Natal and one in Western Cape, said Mohale, who noted that all the cases were male aged between 17 and 43.
Of the diagnosed cases, 15 cases have been given a clean bill of health and only five patients remain in hospital due to severe complications worsened by underlying conditions such as HIV, Mohale said.
South Africa has recorded three deaths since the outbreak of the disease in May.
The department urged all contacts of confirmed cases and suspected cases to cooperate with health workers during contact tracing, screening and 21-day monitoring period, to ensure no case is left undetected.
Mpox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. Symptoms include an unexplained acute rash and back pain, swollen lymph nodes, acute onset of fever, headache, muscle and body aches, and low energy.
