Conflict in eastern DRC hampers fight against Mpox, warns Africa CDC

The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned that the deteriorating humanitarian situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is hampering the fight against the spread of mpox in the region.

The number of mpox cases reported in Africa this year has surpassed 9,959 as the death toll reached 85, Jean Kaseya, the CDC's director-general for Africa, told an online media briefing on Thursday evening.

According to the African Union's specialised health agency, eight African countries reported 3,300 new cases, including 914 confirmed cases, in the past week alone.

The DRC, the epicentre of Africa's ongoing mpox outbreak, recorded 2,707 cases in the past week, of which 516 were confirmed, along with 38 deaths, Kaseya said.

He warned that the worsening humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC and the city of Goma, where fighting between the DRC army and M23 rebels has intensified, was stalling efforts against mpox and other disease outbreaks.

"The humanitarian situation in the DRC is affecting not only mpox [response efforts] but also a number of other outbreaks," Kaseya said. "Health infrastructure has been broken, and access to basic services such as water and sanitation doesn't really exist."

"This is also an area where, in addition to mpox, we have cholera, measles, and other disease outbreaks," he said.

Kaseya warned that the large-scale displacement of people could trigger the further spread of the mpox virus throughout the DRC and the region.

"We are talking about people who are leaving Goma and could spread the disease to other regions of the DRC and neighbouring countries. Guns cannot kill us all, but outbreaks can kill all of us," he said.

Of the 21 countries affected by the ongoing mpox outbreak since the beginning of last year, 12 are experiencing active transmission of the virus, according to the African CDC.

In mid-August last year, the Africa CDC declared the mpox outbreak a continental public health emergency.

Shortly after, the World Health Organization declared the virus a public health emergency of international concern, the second time in two years it has raised its highest level of global alert for mpox.

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, was first identified in laboratory monkeys in 1958.

It is a rare viral disease typically transmitted through bodily fluids, respiratory droplets and other contaminated materials. Infection often causes fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes.