Fears are high that a new strain of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, which was discovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is now present in several neighboring countries, could spread two years after a global outbreak.
Deadlier and more transmissible than previous forms, the mpox strain surging in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since September, known as the Clade Ib subclade, is spread person-to-person.
As it did during the global mpox outbreak in 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Sunday that it was thinking of forming an expert committee to provide guidance on whether to declare an international emergency.
Unlike other strains, which typically only cause lesions and rashes on the mouth, face, and genitalia, the Clade Ib strain causes skin rashes throughout the entire body.
As of August 3, the African Union health agency, Africa CDC, had recorded 14,479 confirmed and suspected cases of the strain and 455 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), translating to a roughly three percent mortality rate.
However, scientists in the sizable country of Central Africa claim that up to 10% of children may die from the strain.
The Congolese government acknowledged last month an “exponential increase” in cases.
“The disease has been seen in the displacement camps around Goma in North Kivu where the extreme population density makes the situation very critical,” Louis Albert Massing, medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in DRC said.
“The risks of explosion are real given the enormous population movements” in the conflict-ridden region, which borders several countries, he added.
Already, the Clade Ib strain has jumped national borders — in the last two weeks, cases have been reported in Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and Kenya, Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for mpox, told AFP.
Authorities in the four countries have confirmed mpox cases — Burundi in particular has reported 127 cases — without specifying the strain.
The eight-member East African Community (EAC) has urged governments to educate their citizens on how to protect themselves and prevent the spread of the disease.
Lewis, from the WHO, said it was the first time that the four countries lying to the east of DRC had reported mpox cases.
“This disease is not endemic in Rwanda, Burundi, or Uganda, which indicates that it is an extension of the outbreak that is raging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Central Africa as a whole,” the speaker stated.
Africa CDC has also reported 35 suspected and confirmed cases, including two deaths, in Cameroon, 146 cases, including one death, in Congo Brazzaville, 227 cases in the Central African Republic, 24 in Nigeria, five in Liberia and four cases in Ghana.
Without identifying the strain, Ivory Coast recently reported six confirmed non-fatal cases in West Africa, five of which were in the nation’s capital, Abidjan.
