South Sudan says it has registered 25 suspected monkeypox cases

JUBA – South Sudan’s ministry of health has registered at least 25 suspected monkeypox cases, with 8 results testing negative and 17 others pending testing.

Yolanda Awel Deng, the national minister of health, during a media briefing on Monday, told journalists that there is no confirmed case of monkeypox in the country, urging the public to remain calm and vigilant.

“We have got a cumulative suspected case of 25. Out of the 25, 17 are pending testing. And then 8 have been tested and are found negative,” Yolanda assured.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis disease primarily transmitted from animals, such as wild rodents, to humans.

Human-to-human transmission occurs through direct contact with skin lesions, infected body fluids, or in direct contact with contaminated materials such as bedding.

The World Health Organization declared monkeypox, M-P-O-X, a public health emergency of international concern, P-H-E-I-C.

Yolanda said neighboring countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda have reported confirmed cases, thereby increasing the risk of spillover of the monkeypox virus into the country.

“Western Equatorial registers the 17 suspected cases, about 5 cases from Northern Bahr-el-ghazal, 1 suspected case in Renk (Upper Nile), 2 cases that were collected this morning in Central Equatoria, Juba,” she stated, adding.

“The Ministry of Health continues to monitor the M-Pox situation in the region and strengthening mechanisms for preparedness and operational readiness to timely respond to any threat of M-Pox outbreak,” she said.

A cumulative total of 99,176 laboratory-confirmed cases of monkeypox, including 208 deaths, were reported to WHO from 116 countries, all in six WHO regions.

In the African region, the DRC recorded the highest number of M-Pox cases for the time, with the suspected transmission driven by sexual contact.

Individuals with symptoms and signs such as fever, headache, malaise, muscle aches, and swollen limb nodes, followed later by a rash, are requested to seek immediate medical attention at the nearest health care facility and should desist from self-medication.

Individuals are also advised to use personal protective equipment (PPE) while caring for patients, not share beddings, clothing, towels, or utensils with sick people, practice hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, while infected patients are advised to be isolated in hospital or at home, avoid contact with wild animals, especially those that are found sick or dead, and cook all foods containing fresh animal meat or products properly before eating.

According to the Director General for Preventive Health and Emergency Response at the National Ministry of Health, Dr. Kediende Chong, South Sudan has developed a preparedness and response plan that has outlined all the necessary preparedness and readiness mechanisms.

“Should we detect a positive case of monkeypox in this country, I can also confirm that we have a testing equipment and our laboratory is actually fully accredited,” he assured.

South Sudan is soon to issue a revised travel advisory, which will outline guidelines for those coming into the country from countries with reported and suspected cases.