Congo records sharp increase in deaths from Mpox infections
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has witnessed a sharp increase in deaths from Mpox infections. Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba reported on Thursday that 548 infected individuals have died since the beginning of the year. Authorities have recorded a total of 15,664 suspected infection cases. Just under two weeks ago, the African Union's health agency (Africa CDC) reported 455 deaths and 14,479 infection cases in 25 of the 26 Congolese provinces. Now, all provinces of the central African country are affected by the Mpox outbreak.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the highest level of alarm on Wednesday due to the spread of the Mpox virus in Africa, declaring it a "public health emergency of international concern" like the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The African Union had already declared a "continental health emergency" the day before.
Experts are particularly concerned about the virus variant 1b, which is currently circulating in the Congo and some other African countries. Typical symptoms of an infection with the 1b variant include skin rashes all over the body. In milder variants, the rash is limited to individual body parts such as the mouth, face, or genitals. Along with pustules, fever is also a typical symptom of the disease.
Mpox viruses were originally prevalent mainly in rodents in West and Central Africa. They were first discovered in the 1970s in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Transmission from person to person is also possible with close contact, such as during sex.
In May 2022, the virus subgroup 2b of the disease known for decades as monkeypox also spread outside of Africa, mainly in Europe. Primarily affected were men who have sex with men. The WHO also declared a public health emergency of international concern at that time, which ended in May 2023. However, the virus subgroup 2b is significantly less dangerous than the currently spreading group 1b.
Due to the escalating Mpox outbreak, all provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are now affected. Accordingly, all of them are at risk and require increased health measures to contain the spread.
The African Union's health agency reported 455 deaths and 14,479 infection cases in 25 provinces earlier, but now, with the spread to all provinces, the number of affected individuals haspotentially increased significantly.
