By: Natasha Archary

The Department of Health (DoH) has confirmed the death toll from the mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) outbreak has risen to 3, with 16 positive cases in the country.
In an update, the DoH said the latest cases include a 40-year old man from Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal who presented with mpox symptoms including a rash all over his body, and he didn’t seek medical intervention.
The man passed away at home and test results came back positive for mpox on 23 June.
A further 2 cases were confirmed in Gauteng, and these include a 43-year old man who was diagnosed on 22 June at a local private health facility in Johannesburg. Another 29-year old male was diagnosed in Mamelodi health facility on 21 June.
Both men presented with symptoms indicative of the disease without any international travel history.
This brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases of mpox in South Africa to 16 since the outbreak of the disease in May 2024, with 3 deaths to date.
Eight of these cases are from KwaZulu-Natal, seven are from Gauteng, and one from Western Cape.
All cases are males, aged between 23-43 years old.
Also read: Rand Water calls for calm as suburbs run bone dry



