How the mpox virus is ravaging Congo and neighbouring countries

A new, more contagious variant of the mpox virus – previously known as monkeypox – is gaining ground in more and more parts of Africa. This strain, clade 1b, broke out in a mining region in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and is spreading to surrounding countries where the virus was previously unknown: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. The World Health Organization (WHO) therefore declared the outbreak an international emergency in mid-August and warns of outbreaks on other continents. Infections have also been reported in Sweden and Thailand.

Until 2022, mpox was localized in parts of Africa, and was spread mainly through human contact with infected wild animals. In 2022, the clade 2b variant caused a global wave of infections, mainly among men with multiple male sexual partners. That wave has been contained. The variant now circulating between humans, clade 1b, appears to be more deadly and contagious than clade 2b. The outbreak in a mining area has caused it to circulate among miners, sex workers, traders and migrant workers. The virus spreads during sex and other close contact with an infected person.

The outbreak is exacerbated by the humanitarian crisis in DRC, where 6.2 million people are displaced within the country by serious conflicts by violent armed groups. Mpox has now been diagnosed in 17,000 people in thirteen African countries and more than 500 people have died from it.

People with mpox develop flu-like symptoms and weeks of bumps and blisters all over the body – smallpox, which are often painful and leave scars. For people with poor resistance, such as the elderly, pregnant women, children and people with HIV, an infection can be fatal. Mpox often causes miscarriages. In the DRC, two vaccines have been approved for emergency use since the end of June. The WHO called on countries with a vaccine stockpile to donate them. France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Japan and the US have already donated vaccines or promised to do so. Minister of Health Fleur Agema (PVV) has so far refused to do so.

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