<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">South Africa on Thursday reported its first case of monkeypox, joining some 40 other countries that have identified patients with the disease.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“The patient is a 30-year-old male from Johannesburg who has no travel history, meaning that this cannot be attributed to having been acquired outside South Africa,” Health Minister Joe Phaahla told a news conference.</div><div><br></div><div>“Working with the relevant health authorities, a process of contact tracing has begun.”</div><div><br></div><div>Initial symptoms of monkeypox typically include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes and a blistery, chickenpox-like rash.</div><div><br></div><div>The disease is usually mild and patients normally recover after two or three weeks.</div><div><br></div><div>The World Health Organization said last week that Europe remained the epicenter of the global monkeypox outbreak.</div><div><br></div><div>The UN health body is due to hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to determine whether to classify the global monkeypox outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>