According to the Minister, the death was among two positive cases reported in the central province of Gauteng, where the cities of Pretoria and Johannesburg are located.

The patient died last Monday at the Tembisa Hospital.

All of the cases and all of the patients, he added, are men between the ages of 30 and 39 with no history of travel to other countries experiencing the outbreaks.

That fact, he said, indicates that South Africa does indeed have local transmission of Mpox.

Close contact with injuries, sexual contact, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding, he recalled, transmit the Mpox virus from one person to another, the Ministry reminded.

The incubation period for Mpox is usually six to 13 days, but can vary from five to 21 days.

Some common symptoms of Mpox include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, physical fatigue, and swollen glands.

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