Professor Helen Rees on Mpox: Expert Insights and Media Coverage
8 August 2024
Professor Helen Rees, Wits RHI Executive Director has been pivotal in South Africa’s response to the Mpox outbreak. As Co-Chair of the Incident Management Team (IMT), she has significantly influenced the country’s strategies to combat the virus. In her media engagements, Professor Rees has highlighted the critical need for a coordinated response at both national and provincial levels. She emphasises that a thorough understanding of Mpox—its symptoms, transmission, and treatment—is essential for early detection and effective containment of outbreaks before they escalate.
Ongoing Media Coverage: Interviews, Podcasts, and Articles Featuring Professor Helen Rees
Media Interviews
- Prof Helen Rees on the Mpox Outbreak: President Ramaphosa Concerned Over Rapid Spread: Prof. Helen Rees Weighs In, SABC News, 19 August 2024.
- Prof Helen Rees on How to Prepare for the Mpox Outbreak, eNCA, 20 August 2024
Podcasts
- Prof Helen Rees Discusses the Mpox Outbreak: Public Concerns Following WHO’s Global Health Emergency Declaration, Radio Islam, 19 August 2024.
- Prof Helen Rees Discusses Mpox Outbreak with John Perlman: ‘The world has to learn a nasty lesson about vaccine readiness’, Radio 702, 19 August 2024
Online Articles
- Daily Maverick, Access to Equitable Medical Countermeasures ‘Imperative to Curbing Mpox Virus Sweeping Through Africa’, 14 August 2024.
- Daily Maverick, As the mpox virus sweeps through Africa, here’s what SA is doing to curb the outbreak, 18 August 2024.
- Salaa Media, Mpox brings Covid-19 déjà vu, 19 August 2024
- Eyewitness News, Mpox outbreak: ‘The world has to learn a nasty lesson about vaccine readiness’, 19 August 2024
- The Africa Report, Top African expert calls for vaccine equity to beat mpox, 22 August 2024.
For more information from the National Department of Health on Mpox, including details on transmission, prevention, and myths versus facts, click here.
