In a statement he warned that this does not mean that people should become indulgent, ‘because we have learned from the Covid-19 pandemic that viruses are unpredictable as they mutate from time to time’.

Consequently, despite the favorable disease situation, South Africa remains on high alert in case of an unforeseen increase in Mpox cases and the emergence of new contagious strains.

In the meantime, South African health authorities are considering a number of pharmaceutical interventions, including additional treatments and vaccines.

The decision to implement them, the ministry said, will be based on epidemiological data.

In the text, the department also clarified that the declarations by the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization (WHO) of the Mpox outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern do not translate into trade and travel restrictions for the time being.

Instead, he noted, these declarations serve as a call for African states to work together to accelerate the approval of the vaccine against the disease, as well as the Mpox treatment.

mh/abo/jf/mv+