22 August 2024
There is currently international concern about the spread of the infectious disease mpox (caused by the monkeypox virus). The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a public health emergency, following a significant increase in the number of cases of the disease in Central Africa, particularly in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Cases have also been reported from countries bordering DRC, and a single case has been detected in Sweden in a patient who had recently visited DRC. This outbreak is being caused by a new strain of the monkeypox virus (called clade 1b) which appears to be more infectious than the strain which caused a worldwide epidemic in 2022. There have so far been no reports of clade 1b mpox in southern Africa, and at present this outbreak is unlikely to directly affect St Helena.
There is coincidentally a smaller outbreak of mpox in South Africa caused by the clade 2b strain of monkeypox virus. The World Health Organisation reports that almost all the mpox patients in South Africa self-identify as men who have sex with men (MSM), and all caught the infection through sexual contact. The number of cases is small, and again this outbreak does not currently pose a significant threat to St Helena.
The Health Directorate is monitoring the situation daily, and if the threat to St Helena increases we will issue further guidance.
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