A second person has succumbed to monkeypox in South Africa less that 24 hours after the country reported the first death from the virus.

South African's Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the two men, aged 37 and 38, were tested and determined to have died due to the virus.

Six cases of monkeypox have been reported in South Africa this year, all classed as severe and required hospitalisation.

The men who were reported to have contracted monkeypox had not been out of the country. As such, health authorities are suggesting the virus is being transmitted locally.

World Health Organisation (WHO) had previously declared a public health emergency over a monkeypox outbreak in 2022.