In Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, health teams are working tirelessly to identify monkeypox cases as the number of infections in the city continues to rise daily.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreaks in Congo and across Africa a global emergency. Confirmed cases have now been reported in children and adults across more than a dozen countries, with a new, more virulent strain of the virus emerging.
Earlier this week, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention labeled the mpox outbreaks a public health emergency, citing over 500 deaths and calling for international assistance to curb the virus’s spread.
“Since Friday (August 9), we have confirmed nine cases of monkeypox. We first isolate individuals with suspicious lesions and then collect samples,” said Dr. Rachel Maguru, General Practitioner at Goma Provincial Hospital and Head of the Multi-Epidemic Center.
Dr. Maguru expressed concern that individuals with symptoms might avoid visiting the hospital to escape isolation, which could lead to further infections spreading within communities.
Recent reports have highlighted the emergence of a more lethal form of mpox in a Congolese mining town, which has a mortality rate of up to 10% and may spread more easily. This new variant is more difficult to detect as it causes milder symptoms and lesions primarily on the genitals, making it easier for people to unknowingly transmit the virus.
“We are seeing a rising number of cases, with a mortality rate higher than acceptable. New countries are now reporting cases that hadn’t in recent years, with several of them identifying the variant of mpox currently spreading in the DRC,” stated Prof. Salim Abdool Karim, chair of the Emergency Consultative Group for the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.