JOHANNESBURG, March 20 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's National Department of Health has called for vigilance against mpox after three new cases were detected in the country's Gauteng Province.

The total number of mpox cases recorded since the beginning of 2025 now stands at six, the department said in a statement issued late Wednesday.

The latest three cases increased the total cumulative number of positive cases from 28 to 31 since the outbreak in May 2024, the statement said, quoting Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale.

The newly detected cases are a 38-year-old man, a 33-year-old woman, and a 14-year-old boy. The latter two were in contact with another patient.

None of the patients have a history of travel, which means a possible "ongoing local transmission of the virus," Mohale said.

"The patients are currently self-isolating and receiving appropriate clinical management from the healthcare workers," he said.

Mohale emphasized the importance of contact tracing in managing mpox cases, highlighting its effectiveness in identifying these latest cases. Enditem

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