Health Minister Joe Phaahla on Thursday, 13 June, confirmed that a second person has died from Mpox in South Africa, less than 24 hours after the health ministry announced the first death.
This comes a day after Phaahla briefed the media on government efforts to control the spread of the global outbreak of Mpox formerly known as monkeypox. The outbreak has been ongoing since 2022.
According to National Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale, the deceased was a 38-year-old male patient who was admitted at a local hospital in uMgungundlovu, KwaZulu-Natal, on Wednesday.
The patient tested positive for Mpox on Wednesday after presenting with extensive lesions, lymphadenopathy, headache, fatigue, oral ulcers, muscle pain and a sore throat.
The patient has unfortunately demised in KwaZulu-Natal the same day his test results came back positive, said Mohale. The deceased is said to have been living with HIV and listed his residential address as Brakpan in Gauteng.
