The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains the African country most affected by the mpox epidemic, which is spreading mainly in the province of South Kivu.
Mpox, also called monkeypox, has already infected 7,534 people in the DRC and caused 25 deaths, according to a report from the World Health Organization (WHO) covering the period from January 1 to October 20, 2024. This is the the heaviest toll since the appearance of this disease in Africa, where 9,320 cases and 34 deaths were recorded, Burundi ranking in second position with 1,287 cases.
Faced with this situation, the WHO has increased its vigilance, due to the continued increase in cases of mpox in the Congolese province of South Kivu. Analysis of tests carried out at the end of September indicates the presence of the new Ib variant, also detected in five other provinces: North Kivu, Kinshasa, Kasaï, Tshopo and Tanganyika.
According to the WHO, this spread is due to “ close interpersonal contact between humans, including sexual contact and close contact within households and communities “. She points out that the epidemic affects both adults and children, reflecting broader community transmission through close contact.
« The epidemiological situation is complex and continues to evolve, generating new risks. There are multiple outbreaks of different virus strains, or what we call clades. All clades of the virus are known to spread from person to person “, said Dr Michel Yao, responsible for the mpox incident at WHO, during a regular UN press briefing in Geneva.
However, the UN agency found that two of these clades (Ib and IIb) were transmitted effectively through sexual contact. “ We now have evidence that there is also sustained human-to-human transmission of clade Ia in sexual networks in Kinshasa, following importation from endemic regions of the country. This may reflect sexual transmission in other provinces, the first signs of which we saw in a cluster of cases in mid-2023 “, he added.
According to UN radio Okapi, more than 47,000 people have been vaccinated in the DRC, or 103% of the target, notably in three of the six targeted provinces: Equateur, North Kivu, South Kivu, South -Ubangi, Sankuru and Tshopo. On the other hand, the WHO estimates that to date it has only received a third of the 87 million dollars from the appeal for funds intended to fight against mpox.
ODL/ac/APA
