South Africa Confirms Four New Mpox Cases, Bringing the 2026 Total to 26
CAPE TOWN — South Africa has recorded four additional mpox infections, the Department of Health announced, bringing the national total to 26 since the beginning of 2026. The Western Cape accounts for 18 of the cases, the highest of any province; the rest were recorded in Gauteng (3), the Eastern Cape (2), the Free State (2) and KwaZulu-Natal (1).
Of the Western Cape's 18 cases, 16 are linked to local transmission, while two involved foreign nationals who contracted the virus outside South Africa. Twenty-five of the 26 patients are male, with ages ranging from 23 to 50 and a median age of 37. Of the 17 cases with laboratory clade results, 13 are associated with Clade Ib and four with Clade IIb.
Department of Health spokesperson Foster Mohale urged the public to remain vigilant and to seek healthcare promptly if symptoms such as a rash, fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes or fatigue develop, and to avoid close contact with others if symptoms appear. The department is working with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and provincial health authorities to strengthen surveillance, case identification and contact tracing, and has urged healthcare workers to stay alert and follow infection prevention and control procedures. It said mpox is preventable and treatable.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 猴痘病毒粒子电镜图。照片：美国国家过敏与传染病研究所（NIAID）／Wikimedia Commons（CC BY 2.0）。Electron micrograph of mpox virus particles. Photo: NIAID / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
