HARARE
–
Harare
city
authorities
have
allayed
fears
of
an
Mpox
outbreak
in
the
city
following
tests
conducted
on
two
suspected
cases
which
both
came
out
negative.
Harare
City’s
Health
Director,
Doctor
Prosper
Chonzi
told
ZimLive
on
Wednesday
the
two
suspected
cases
had
been
identified
in
in
the
high-density
suburb
of
Kuwadzana.
“There
are
just
two
cases
in
Harare;
we
took
specimens
from
these
individuals
who
showed
some
symptoms
to
the
lab
and
they
came
out
negative.
“Mpox
is
associated
with
a
fever
and
these
people
had
no
such.
We
have
measles
and
chicken
pox
which
may
seem
like
Mpox
but
it’s
a
different
case
“We
now
do
the
tests
here
in
Zimbabwe
and
not
in
South
Africa
as
was
the
case,
but
we
are
all
on
high
alert,”
he
said.
Dr
Aspect
Maunganidze,
the
Permanent
Secretary
in
the
Ministry
of
Health
and
Child
Care
(MoHCC)
also
said
there
are
no
cases
reported
in
Zimbabwe
yet.
“We
have
not
recorded
any
cases
of
Mpox
and
the
government
is
vigilant
especially
at
border
entry
points,”
he
told
ZimLive.
Mpox,
previously
known
as
monkeypox,
is
a
viral
illness
caused
by
the
monkeypox
virus,
a
species
of
the
genus
Orthopoxvirus.
Common
symptoms
of
Mpox
are
a
skin
rash
or
mucosal
lesions
which
can
last
2–4
weeks
accompanied
by
fever,
headache,
muscle
aches,
back
pain,
low
energy
and
swollen
lymph
nodes.
The
World
Health
Organisation
(WHO)
has
said
Mpox
constitutes
a
Public
Health
Emergency
of
International
Concern
(PHEIC)
under
the
International
Health
Regulations
(2005)
(IHR),
the
highest
level
of
alarm
under
the
IHR.
The
outbreak,
which
began
in
September
2023
in
the
Democratic
Republic
of
Congo,
has
seen
an
increase
in
the
number
of
cases
in
that
country
and
is
also
spreading
to
neighbouring
countries.
Burundi,
Kenya,
Rwanda
and
Uganda
have
each
reported
Mpox
outbreaks
in
their
territories.