South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The government together with the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday declared an outbreak of Mpox after confirming the first case in a Ugandan national in Juba.
James Hoth Mai, Acting Minister of Health said the national public health laboratory on Thursday confirmed Grade one Mpox, in a 31-year-old Ugandan male residing in Kapuri suburb.
“The ministry of health would like to inform the general public about the declaration of an outbreak of Mpox in South Sudan. This outbreak is declared following a confirmation by the national public health laboratory on Thursday February 6, 2025,” Mai revealed at a press conference in Juba.
He said the patient with a recent travel history to Uganda where Mpox outbreak was declared since 2024, presented symptoms of fever, rash, and body itching on January 22.
Mai said that the ministry of health has already activated the public health emergency operation center to facilitate the coordinated response.
“The confirmed case is under isolation and it is being managed at Gudele hospital. A team of experts at the national level and the World Health Organization (WHO), and other partners have been mobilized to conduct detailed field investigation and list all contacts and ensure close follow up,” he said.
Humphrey Karamagi, WHO’s South Sudan Representative said the detection of the first Mpox case demonstrates the available capacity of the government and partners to respond to emergency situations.
“I can confirm that the country right now has been following the necessary protocols, we have been testing hundreds of suspected cases and this is the first one that has come out positive, so the country has been actively checking for this and we are confident that the government has the ability to respond to this challenge,” said Karamagi.
He noted that WHO has been closely working with the government and particularly the ministry of health to build the capacity for active surveillance and ability to respond to Mpox.
“Upon confirmation of the first case, we as WHO have also taken inventory of our available support to the country and we can confirm that there is adequate capacity to test for additional possible cases. We have over 288 test kits which should enable us to be able to check and make sure that if there are additional cases we are able to pick them fast,” said Karamagi.
South Sudan becomes the 22nd country to declare outbreak of Mpox in Africa.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, was first detected in laboratory monkeys in 1958. It is believed to be transmitted from wild animals, such as rodents, to humans or through human-to-human contact. It is a rare viral disease typically spread through body fluids, respiratory droplets and other contaminated materials. The infection usually causes fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.
