MPOX BRINGS COVID-19 DÉJÀ VU

Tue 20 August 2024:

A surge in Mpox cases rekindled the dread felt by many with the onset of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. But an expert advises us not to worry, since South Africa has at least prepared in advance.

A total of 16 countries, including SA, have detected cases of the infectious disease. Its spread prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

“At this time, in South Africa, we should not be panicking,” asserted professor Adrian Puren, executive director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). He was speaking in an interview with SABC.

“There’s certainly been a great deal of preparation in different aspects in order to try and limit transmissions in the country. These efforts certainly continue. It’s a multisectoral approach that involves both the national department of health, the provinces as well as other partners,” he added.

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Mpox outbreak in SA, Africa and beyond

Currently, there have been 24 recorded cases in SA. Of these, there were three fatalities, 19 recoveries, and two active cases undergoing home isolation, according to the health ministry.

While the country remained on “high alert” – as Foster Mohale, health spokesperson, put it – Puren said those mainly affected by the current wave were those with immune deficiencies.

“The severe cases that we have seen are primarily those individuals who have immune deficiency – in other words, HIV – who either do not know their status or who know their status but may be poorly controlled,” he said.

The most recent strain of the virus, known as clade 1, has been circulating on the continent since 2022.

Particularly hard-hit was the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which experienced the biggest outbreak ever recorded with cases running into thousands. Now, it has reached countries as far apart as Sweden and Pakistan.

At the same time, professor Helen Rees, founder and executive director of Wits RHI, took a more concerned view of the developments.

Noting a takeaway from the Covid-19 pandemic, she said: “The earlier you look at something that is a potential pandemic threat and then respond, the better”.

“We are worried about it and what we want to do is contain it now and not allow it to become a really rampant global problem. It’s already a significant African problem,” she stated.

However, she said Covid-19 was able to spread much more rapidly due to the fact that it was airborne. Mpox, on the other hand, was spread through physical contact and thus took longer.