SOUTH African minister of health Joe Phaahla revealed that the first confirmed case of monkeypox has been detected in the country.
Phaahla was speaking during a post cabinet meeting media briefing today.
He said he received a report from the CEO of the National Health Laboratory Services late on Wednesday that confirmed the detection of the first case of monkeypox in South Africa.
“The patient is a 30-year-old man from Johannesburg, who has no travel history, meaning that this cannot be attributed to having been acquired outside South Africa,” said Phaahla.
The National Institute of Communicable Diseases said contact tracing is currently underway and the institute is working on identifying any additional linked cases.