Fear and Contagion Spread in Eastern DR Congo’s Mpox Hotspot
In the epicenter of the current mpox outbreak, Kamituga, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), fear and contagion are spreading rapidly. As the newest variant of the virus was discovered last year, the town has been battling the outbreak with great intensity. Inside the Kamituga general hospital, 2-year-old Emile, covered in lesions, watched silently as healthcare workers tended to his painful temperature.
Diego, Emile’s father, recounts his journey from ignorance to fear. “I didn’t believe that children could get this disease. I thought it was only for adults, and I didn’t know that there were children here getting treated. When I saw children here, I was scared.”
Kamituga, a commercial hub of approximately 300,000 people, attracts miners, sex workers, and traders who are constantly on the move. Since the outbreak began, nearly 1,000 people have been infected, and at least eight have died, including four children. The city’s hospital is regularly near capacity, with an average of five new cases reported daily.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), common symptoms of mpox include a rash, fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen glands. The goal of treating mpox is to take care of the rash, manage pain, and prevent complications.
In the hardest-hit town of the province, Kamituga, health officials note that the virus is spreading more rapidly than documented. “The majority of cases are young people, from 14-year-olds to 35-year-old adults. You also have kids under five years old who are unfortunately affected,” Dally Muamba, a doctor with the NGO that manages the mpox response in the Kamituga general hospital, explains.
In an effort to mitigate the outbreak, getting an mpox vaccine can help prevent infection. The vaccination rollout is set to start in October, with a target of 3 million doses needed to end the outbreak in the vast country.