Since its first detection in September 2023, the strain of the Mpox epidemic, clade Ib has been detected in eight provinces of the DRC: South Kivu, North Kivu, Kinshasa, Kasaï, Tshopo, Tanganyika, Haut-Katanga and Mai Ndonbe.
Although most trends seem ” stables “, the situation of monkeypox (Mpox) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains ” worrying », announced Monday the UN world health agency (WHO), noting that the epidemic of clade Ib of the Mpox virus continues mainly in this country, in Burundi and Uganda, but also that new cases linked Travel has been identified to some countries that were not previously affected.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the DRC remains the most affected country, with circulation of the two Mpox I subclades. Generally speaking, the epidemic curves of suspected smallpox cases in the 12 most affected provinces show that these provinces have varying epidemic sizes, but that for most of them, the trend over the last few weeks seems relatively stable.
In provinces where MPXV clade Ia and clade Ib are known to co-circulate, including the capital Kinshasa, the trend of suspected cases has also been relatively stable over the past few months.
However, even if ” most trends appear stable, the situation in the country remains worrying, as it reflects high and continued circulation of the virus », detailed the WHO in its latest epidemiological report.
More than 9,500 cases in the DRC including 43 deaths
Since its first detection in September 2023, clade Ib has been detected in eight provinces of the DRC: South Kivu, North Kivu, Kinshasa, Kasaï, Tshopo, Tanganyika, Haut-Katanga and Mai Ndonbe.
In Africa, from January 2024 to January 5, 2025, 14,700 confirmed cases of Mpox, including 66 deaths, were reported by 20 countries. The most affected country remains the Democratic Republic of Congo (9,513 cases including 43 deaths). Followed by Burundi (3,035 confirmed cases, including one death) and Uganda (1,552 confirmed cases, including 12 deaths).
Burundi and Uganda continue to report between 100 and 200 new smallpox cases per week, with a trend toward plateauing, perhaps due to a decline in surveillance and reporting during the December holiday period.
Community transmissions have also been reported in other countries on the continent, such as Kenya and Rwanda. Travel-related cases have been reported in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Additionally, although no cases have been confirmed to date in Tanzania, the identification of travel-related smallpox cases in Tanzania suggests undetected transmission in that country.
Cases of Mpox in Europe and North America associated with travel to Africa
Outside of Africa, eleven countries have detected MPXV clade Ib. Sweden, Thailand, the United States of America and Canada detected one case each among travelers from affected countries in East and Central Africa.
For WHO, these recent travel-associated smallpox cases highlight the risk of undetected transmission within countries, underscoring the need for enhanced surveillance and timely reporting to improve global surveillance and prevent international spread.
A travel-related case of Mpox due to clade Ib in Germany (the second importation) led to secondary household transmission. Germany has thus confirmed six cases: three cases among travelers from affected countries in East Africa and three household contacts of one of these travelers.
MPXV clade Ib has been detected in three other countries, Belgium, China and France, directly or indirectly linked to travel to affected Central African countries.
Kosovo reported its first case of MPXV. No information on the MPXV clade is yet available.
TE/Sf/APA
