South Africa has confirmed a second death from monkeypox

South Africa has confirmed a second death from monkeypox, and the sixth confirmed case of monkeypox in the country since May.

South Africa confirmed a new case of monkeypox Wednesday in a 38-year-old man who is a carrier of the virus, the Ministry of Health said Thursday, Xinhua reported. He tested positive for the monkeypox virus on Wednesday and died the same day he was diagnosed.

Six cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in South Africa since May, all concentrated in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

Health Minister Fahra reported Wednesday that the five previously confirmed cases were all severe cases requiring hospitalization, including a patient from Gauteng province who died in a Johannesburg hospital on June 10.

All five patients are male, between the ages of 30 and 39, and have no history of travel to monkeypox affected countries, suggesting local transmission of monkeypox in South Africa.

In 2022, South Africa reported five monkeypox cases with no deaths, and in 2023 no monkeypox cases were reported.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease that is not easily transmitted from person to person, but can be contracted by close contact with an infected person.

The initial symptoms of monkeypox infection in humans include fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, and swollen lymph nodes, which can progress to a widespread rash on the face and body. Most people recover within a few weeks, but some become seriously ill or even die.