The mpox epidemic has caused 548 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since the beginning of the year and has now affected all provinces, Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba announced on Thursday.
According to the latest epidemiological report, "our country has recorded 15,664 potential cases and 548 deaths since the beginning of the year," he said in a video message sent to AFP.
As of August 3, the African Union's health agency Africa CDC (Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) had recorded 455 deaths and 14,479 infections in 25 of the 26 provinces of this country of about 100 million inhabitants.
"Currently, all our provinces are affected by this virus," added Mr. Kamba, quoted in a press release from the Ministry of Health.
The provinces of South Kivu, North Kivu, Tshopo (east), Equateur, North Ubangi, Tshuapa, Mongala (north) and Sankuru (center) are the most affected, the minister said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday issued its highest level of international alert in the face of a resurgence of cases of COPD in Africa.
MPOX was first discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the DRC (formerly Zaire), with the spread of the clade 1 subtype (of which the new variant is a mutation), mainly limited since then to countries in western and central Africa, with patients generally being contaminated by infected animals.
Through international mobilization, "we are activating all the necessary mechanisms to identify and treat cases" free of charge, said Minister Kamba.
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