A new health scare rears its head as faster spreading variant makes its way to the country.
- The Mpox virus has a new mutation that has a higher infection rate and speed
- It has the ability to spread through bodily fluids, skin to skin contact, coughing and mucus.
- The head of Wits University’s campus health division calls on students to be vigilant during this time.
A new, highly infectious variant of the Mpox virus called, Clade 1b has officially reached South African shores, with Gauteng being its landing ground. Unlike the previous variant (Clade 2) Clade b1 is spread through mucus, bodily fluids, skin to skin contact and coughing.
According to a statement released by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in March 2025, seven labs in Gauteng had reported to have detected the new variant.
“We tend to let our guard down at times. When you look at a lot of viruses, all that they need us to do is be vigilant and avoid contact with infected people”, said Tshidiso Ntshabele, Wits University’s campus health and wellness head. According to Ntshabele, with the help of the Wits campus health and wellness center’s Infection Prevention and control policy, the center would be prepared if the spread of the virus escalated.
Infographic showing the nature of the new variant and how to prevent it from spreading. Photo: Created on Canva.
South Africa is not the first African country to experience a breakout of the new variant. The city of Kampala in Uganda was one of the places in which the first South African Clade b1 patient had just visited before it was discovered in Gauteng. As it stands the NICD has traced two groups of the virus with the first group being traced to the patient who had recently visited Kampala and the second group being traced to a similar area in Gauteng.
“I would advise students to familiarize themselves with the signs and symptoms of viruses, and most importantly always avoid contact with someone who might think has any kind of virus,” says Ntshabele.
These are the very same sentiments held by the NICD as there is currently no cure or vaccine for the Mpox virus or its new variant.
FEATURED IMAGE:An animated illustration of a Virus from Prevention Magazine. Photo: Pinterest
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