South Africa rolls out Mpox vaccination drive to curb the spread

South Africa has rolled out the mpox vaccination programme to curb the spread of the disease. As more laboratory confirmed mpox cases continue to be detected in South Africa, the National Department of Health of the country has announced plans to commence vaccination. Following the recent detection of two new cases in the Western Cape and Gauteng, the Department said the mpox vaccine will be made available in the three most affected provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal. According to the department, ten mpox cases have been recorded since the start of this year. The outbreak in South Africa began in May last year, with over 20 cases reported since then. The Mpox is caused by a virus transmitted to humans from infected animals and can spread between people through close physical contact. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and large boil-like skin lesions.a