The Ministry of health on Monday cautioned the public on the monkey pox a viral disease that has been reported in neighboring Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

 “The Ministry of Health reassures that there is no confirmed case of monkey pox in South Sudan, and urges the general public to remain calm but vigilant and report any suspected cases to the nearest health facility,” said Yolanda Awel Deng, the Minister of Health during press conference in Juba,

Monkey pox is an infectious viral disease that can occur in humans and other animals. Symptoms include a rash that forms blisters and then crusts over, fever, and swollen lymph nodes. The illness is usually mild, and most of infected individuals recover within a few weeks without treatment.

Deng said they continue to monitor the monkey pox situation in the region, adding that her ministry has strengthened mechanisms for preparedness and timely response to any threat of monkey pox outbreak.

She revealed that they have so far registered 25 suspected cases of monkey pox from Western Equatoria, Northern Bahr el Ghazel and Central Equatorial States, adding that results of 17 samples are pending and the other 8 cases have turned out negative.

Deng encouraged the public to adhere to public health preventive measures such as avoiding close contact with infected persons, use personal protective equipment when caring for patients, and refrain from sharing beddings.

In addition, she also noted that maintaining hygiene such as hand washing is a necessary preventive measure.

Kediende Chong, the Director General for Preventive Health and Emergency Response in the Ministry of Health said they are in the process of availing a response plan to the service cluster and the cabinet.

“South Sudan is well prepared to respond to cases of monkey pox, we have rapid response teams, we have isolation center and intensive care unit. Technically speaking suspected cases are not real cases, there is no case detected so far,” said Chong.

The cumulative total of 99176 of cases of monkey pox have been confirmed including 208 deaths between January and June 2024 to the World Health Organization (WHO) from 116 countries.

Last week, the WHO declared monkey pox a public health emergency disease after registering many cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo.