By Matik Kueth
The Ministry of Health has confirmed South Sudan’s first Mpox case, Acting Health Minister James Hoth Mai announced Friday in Juba. The diagnosis followed PCR testing on February 6, 2025, of skin lesion samples from a 31-year-old Ugandan resident of Kafuri camp, Luri Payam.
“The Ministry of Health would like to notify the general public about declaration of an outbreak of the mpox in South Sudan. This outbreak is declared following confirmation by the National Public Health Laboratory on Thursday, February 6, 2025, using real-time polymerase chain reactions, testing of skin lesions, samples collected from 31-year-old male, a Ugandan national and a resident of Kafuri camp and Luri payam, Juba, South Sudan,” Mai stated.
He explained that the patient exhibited symptoms including fever, rash, and body itching, with an onset date of January 22, 2025, noting that the strain confirmed is GELATE1, the same strain causing the Mpox outbreak in the East African region.
Mai assured the public that the government is fully in control of the situation, adding that “And it will put in place reverse measures to prevent further transmission and safeguard the people of South Sudan.”
Dr. Keiende Chong, Director General for Preventive Health Services and Emergency Response (PHSER), reaffirmed the health ministry’s commitment to being ready to work and reporting any Mpox cases to alert the public.
“I can also reassure you that we are putting in place the mechanisms to continue tracking all the contacts, investigating them. In the press statement you have heard, a team of experts has already been mobilized from the national level, the sub-national level, that is Central Equatoria and the State Ministry of Health together with the WHO and other partners to do an in-depth investigation,” he said.
On his part, Dr. Humphrey Karamagi, WHO’s Representative for South Sudan, said the identification of the disease in South Sudan’s imports demonstrates the country’s ability to recognize any health hazards.
“We just want to emphasize or to confirm that this identification of imports in South Sudan from somebody who presented just yesterday afternoon and by now we are here is really a testament to the national capacity in South Sudan to be able to detect and respond to the health threats,” he stressed.
He noted that since WHO declared imports of a global and regional public health emergency of international concern, the country office has been working closely with the government, specifically the Ministry of Health, to build the capacity for active surveillance and the ability to respond to this situation.
Karamagi also reiterated WHO’s commitment to assisting South Sudan in preventing Mpox from spreading across the country.
“We do take this moment to reiterate our commitment to the people of South Sudan through the government that we are going to do everything we can to help in this response and make sure that this does not become a public health threat in the country,” he emphasized.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which is a member of the Ortho-poxvirus genus. It is primarily found in certain regions of Central and West Africa but has also been reported in other parts of the world, especially during outbreaks.
The disease can be transmitted to humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids, lesions, or respiratory droplets of infected animals (such as rodents) or humans. Symptoms of mpox typically include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and a characteristic rash that resembles smallpox, with lesions appearing over time.