Health Dept says contingency plans in place to deal with spread of monkeypox

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Mpox a global health emergency.

This follows a Wednesday meeting with experts to decide whether the surge in the African continent was of global concern.

Mpox has swept through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and spread to other countries.

WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus says more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths have been reported to date in the DRC, far exceeding 2023’s total.

Wednesday’s meeting comes after the Africa Centre for Disease Control declared its own public health emergency over the growing outbreak on Tuesday.

The African Union’s health watchdog called for international help to stop a new strain of the virus from spreading.

While the new strain has affected thousands of people across the continent, in South Africa, the Health Department said it had contingency plans in effect to stop the spread.

Spokesperson Foster Mohale:

“In South Africa, we are lucky because in as much as the treatment is very scarce across the world, through the intervention and the donation of the World Health Organization’s country office, we managed to secure specific treatment.”

The UN health agency said all the outbreaks of the virus had been linked to the DRC.

-EWN

In other news – Uzalo actress Nothando Ngcobo (Hlelo) speaks out after disappearing

Well-known South African actress Nothando Ngcobo is ready to face the world again. This was after she took a break from the screen and social media to focus on her mental health, among other things.

She said that sometimes being a public figure can challenge one’s mental health. “I needed this break to focus on many things. I was able to focus on my family and myself. But most importantly, I focused more on my mental health. Read More

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