Mpox outbreak horror as new strain tears through mining town

A large mining town has emerged as an mpox infection hotspot - leaving doctors concerned over the spread of the virus.

Health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have raised the alarm over the situation in Kamituga, a remote but bustling gold mining town of 300,000 people that attracts miners, sex workers and traders who are constantly on the move. Cases from other parts of eastern Congo can be traced back here, officials say, with the first originating in the local nightclub scene.

Since the outbreak began one year ago, nearly 1,000 people in Kamituga have been infected. Eight have died, half of them children. More than 700 deaths from mpox have been reported across the Congo this year. There is currently a daily average of five new cases at Kamituga's general hospital, which is regularly near capacity.

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Overall in the South Kivu region, weekly new suspected cases have skyrocketed from about 12 in January to 600 in August, according to province health officials. But this figure is thought to be an underestimate because so many people pass through the area, while many locals are not able to seek medical help.

Residents have said they are not given enough information about mpox. Divine Wisoba lost her one-month-old daughter to mpox in August, but the 21-year-old mum said she was too traumatised to attend to her funeral. Before her daughter got sick, Wisoba said, she was infected herself but didn’t know it.

Painful lesions emerged around her genitals, making walking difficult, and she initially went to a pharmacy as she thought she had a common sexually transmitted infection. Days later, she went to the hospital with her newborn and was diagnosed with mpox. She recovered, but her daughter developed lesions on her foot, and later died.

Grieving mother Wisoba said she didn’t know what mpox was until she got it, and now wants the government to invest more in teaching people protective measures. She told the Associated Press: "When she was born, it was as if God had answered our prayers — we wanted a girl. But our biggest joy was transformed into devastation."

Local officials have said they do not have the resources to reach more than a few miles outside Kamituga to track suspected cases or inform residents. They broadcast radio messages, but say that doesn’t reach far enough.

Adults and children who do make it to the hospital once infected have a much better chance of survival. Local man Diego Nyago said he’d brought his two-year-old son, Emile, to the hospital for circumcision when he developed a fever and lepasions. The dad said is grateful he was already at the hospital, and watched on as doctors poured cold water over his boy to bring his temperature down. Mr Nyago said: "I didn’t believe that children could catch this disease. Those who die are the ones who stay at home."

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is an infectious disease caused by a virus. It can cause flu-like symptoms including fever and muscle aches, but its most obvious symptom is a skin rash or pus-filled lesions that can last two to four weeks. In August, the World Health Organisation declared mpox a global health emergency after the clade 1 strain began to spread rapidly through central Africa.

A small number of cases have also been detected in countries further afield, including Thailand and Sweden. No cases of the clade 1b strain of mpox have been detected in the UK.