Two years after a global outbreak, concerns are mounting over a newly identified strain of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and several neighboring countries.
This Clade Ib subclade, which has been spreading in DRC since September, is more deadly and transmissible than previous strains, transmitting person-to-person.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Sunday that it might convene an expert committee to determine whether to declare an international emergency, similar to the global mpox outbreak in 2022.
Unlike other strains, the Clade Ib strain causes skin rashes across the entire body, rather than being confined to the mouth, face, and genitals.
As of August 3, Africa CDC reported 14,479 confirmed and suspected cases and 455 deaths in DRC, reflecting a mortality rate of about three percent. However, researchers in the region suggest the mortality rate could reach up to ten percent among children.
The Congolese government recently acknowledged a significant rise in cases. Louis Albert Massing, a medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in DRC, highlighted the critical situation in displacement camps around Goma, North Kivu, where extreme population density exacerbates the risk of a major outbreak due to large population movements in the conflict-prone area.
The Clade Ib strain has also crossed national borders, with recent cases reported in Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Kenya, according to Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical lead for mpox.
Authorities in these countries have confirmed cases, with Burundi reporting 127, though the strain has not been specified.
The East African Community (EAC) has urged member governments to educate their populations on prevention measures. Lewis noted this is the first time Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda, countries not endemic to mpox, have reported cases, indicating the outbreak is extending beyond the DRC and Central Africa.
Additionally, Africa CDC reported cases in several other countries: 35 in Cameroon (including two deaths), 146 in Congo Brazzaville (one death), 227 in the Central African Republic, 24 in Nigeria, five in Liberia, and four in Ghana. In West Africa, Ivory Coast recently confirmed six non-fatal cases in the economic capital, Abidjan, without specifying the strain.
