Breaking News
By Delicious Mathuthu
Zimbabwe – The Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) has officially announced the country’s first two confirmed Mpox cases in Harare and Mberengwa in the Midlands Province.
The two, a-11-year-old boy and a-24-year-old man, had travelled to South Africa and Tanzania respectively, before returning home and developing symptoms.
Both patients are stable and recovering, currently in isolation at home and receiving appropriate care, the Zimbabwe MoHCC said.
“Case number 1 is an 11-year-old male child with a known history of having travelled to South Africa in August 2024, returning to Zimbabwe on the 10th of September 2024.
“He developed symptoms on the 23rd of September 2024,” MoHCC said.
Contact tracing is underway, the Ministry said, with seven contacts identified and monitored in connection with the first case.
On the second case, the MoHCC said a: “24-year-old male with a known history of having travelled to Tanzania on the 14th of September 2024 and came back on the 21st of September 2024.
“He developed symptoms on the 29th of September 2024,” said MoHCC.
Both patients are no longer infectious, they said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on August 14, 2024.
The Africa Centre for Disease Control, a day before, had declared it a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security, on August 13, 2024
As of October 13, 2024, Africa has reported 7,535 confirmed cumulative cases of Mpox, and 32 deaths.
The virus has spread rapidly across the continent, with over 16 countries recording cases so far.
In Southern Africa, countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa have reported cases.
WHO says Mpox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus, characterized by fever, muscle aches, sore throat and skin rash.
It can be transmitted through close contact with lesions, body fluids, or contaminated materials.
Children, pregnant women, and individuals with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications, WHO says.
