South Africa: Existing confirmed cases of monkeypox infected with virus from West African strain

　　China News Agency, Johannesburg, July 1 (Reporter Wang Xi) After the discovery of two confirmed cases of monkeypox, South Africa's National Institute of Infectious Diseases issued a statement on the evening of July 1 local time, confirming that: It was confirmed that two confirmed cases of monkeypox in South Africa were infected with the virus from a West African strain.

The data map shows the mature oval-shaped monkeypox virus particles and the crescent-shaped and spherical immature virus particles under the electron microscope.

　　Professor Adrian Pullen, executive director of South Africa's National Institute of Infectious Diseases, revealed that according to data released by the World Health Organization, since the beginning of this year, there have been more than 1,800 confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox on the African continent, including South Africa. 13 African countries.

Genome sequencing has been used to track the spread of the virus, and it has now been established that the majority of monkeypox cases in Africa are of the West African strain of the virus, and two confirmed cases in South Africa are also of the West African strain.

　　In response to the discovery of two consecutive confirmed cases of monkeypox in South Africa, Adrian pointed out that since the monkeypox epidemic has not yet constituted a public health emergency of international concern, the South African people need not panic.

However, it must be noted that the South African government needs to provide a large environmental atmosphere, that is, people infected with the virus must receive virus testing in a timely and effective manner. This is because the current infected people in South Africa have no history of living abroad, so it is very likely that they will still be infected. More potential infected people have been discovered one after another.

　　Adrian also said that isolating confirmed cases and tracing possible contacts can help prevent the rapid spread of monkeypox virus, while also effectively cutting off its cycle of transmission.

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