DR Congo Mpox Cases ‘Plateauing’ as BBC Reports from Clinic

Healthcare professionals at the core of the mpox epidemic in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo informed the BBC of a significant decrease in new cases following the distribution of the initial vaccine supply last month. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) verified to the BBC that the number of new cases in DR Congo seemed to be “plateauing,” though it advised that assessing the effect of vaccinations was premature. Mpox, previously identified as monkeypox, is a highly transmissible illness, believed to have caused the deaths of a minimum of 900 individuals in DR Congo during the current year. Officials from the WHO affirmed that mpox continues to be classified as a global public health emergency, representing the most severe warning level for any significant disease outbreak. Public health specialists across Africa have issued warnings that the illness is still disseminating, as 19 nations on the continent have reported instances of infection. During September, the BBC toured a medical facility in Lwiro, a countryside region approximately an hour’s journey from Bukavu city within DR Congo’s eastern province of South Kivu. The infections observed there have been associated with a comparatively recent and more virulent variant of mpox, designated Clade 1b, which seems to transmit with greater ease and lead to more severe illness. Two months prior, the community hospital was observed to be inundated, characterized by extensive lines of infected individuals, numerous patients compelled to share beds or floor mattresses, and medical staff striving to manage the daily influx. “Right now, we can’t have more than 60 patients in the hospital,” stated nurse Emmanuel Fikiri, who has been actively involved in the mpox crisis for several months, to the BBC this week. He explained, “This is due to the fact that there has been an improvement, there has been vaccination against mpox and there has been support from several partners who have enabled us to take care of the patients.” During his previous conversation with the BBC, Mr. Fikiri could only speak for a short period before hurrying to attend to some of the approximately 200 patients who were then crowded into the hospital wards. However, he now expresses considerably greater optimism regarding the circumstances, considering the high rate of vaccine adoption within the community, which suggests a significant decline in new infections. In fact, upon a visit by a BBC producer to Lwiro hospital earlier this week, a considerably more tranquil environment was observed: the extensive waiting lines had vanished, and several beds in the children’s ward were unoccupied. DR Congo commenced its mpox immunization initiative in October, following the receipt of 265,000 vaccine doses contributed by the global community. To date, over 50,000 individuals have received vaccinations, with the distribution prioritizing the most vulnerable communities, encompassing urban and rural areas in eastern DR Congo. Nevertheless, specialists have observed that mpox seems to impact children in DR Congo to a greater extent, and these children are not currently receiving vaccinations. The WHO only this week approved a vaccine for children, anticipated to arrive from Japan. “Out of the people affected, about 30% are children,” Dr. Jean Kaseya, who leads the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), informed the BBC, clarifying that children also served as “vectors of transmission.” Jackson Murhula, another nurse at the Lwiro clinic, cautioned that it was premature to definitively declare the disease overcome within the community, although he also expressed satisfaction at the apparent improvement in the situation. He stated, “Lately it’s started to slow down, because at the beginning we were receiving 10 or 15 new cases a day, but now we’re only receiving two or three cases a day.” “We can’t confirm that we’ve totally stabilised the disease, because cases are still coming in, but it’s not like before.” This week, three-year-old Atukuzwe Banissa is one of the children receiving medical care. He moans in discomfort, with closed eyes and a face marked by whitish blemishes remaining from the healing lesions. His mother, Julienne Mwinja, aged 25, reported that his initial symptoms included watery eyes. She applied eye drops, yet within a single day, the young boy developed lesions across his mouth, face, and body. The mother of three informed the BBC, “He looked like he’d been scalded by hot water.” Subsequently, she brought him to Lwiro hospital, where he remained admitted for over a week. Medical personnel at Lwiro find it encouraging that individuals are now inclined to visit the clinic promptly upon experiencing symptoms, instead of initially seeking assistance from traditional healers. Dr. Samuel Boland, the WHO incident manager for mpox, informed the BBC that over 96% of all recent mpox infections are presently concentrated in DR Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda. Although acknowledging that DR Congo had reached a turning point, he cautioned that it was premature to definitively state the outbreak had concluded. He remarked, “In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we’ve actually seen, to some extent, a plateauing in the number of mpox cases, but collectively, it still is a very significantly affected country globally.” Indeed, over 90% of global mpox fatalities recorded this year have occurred in DR Congo. Precise statistics are unavailable because only 77 deaths have been laboratory-verified, owing to the scarcity of testing facilities in specific regions of the continent. Dr. Boland stated, “And so there remains a very, very strong need to make sure that we continue intervening at pace and at scale, even in places where we see that there may not be an escalation of cases at this moment in time.” “Though overall, we might see a shift in the transmission in some places, we do again, still see escalation in others – and so we’re not out of the woods yet.” Immunization initiatives have also commenced in other African nations, such as Nigeria and DR Congo’s neighboring country, Rwanda. Dr. Kaseya reported that the Africa CDC observed no significant week-on-week alterations in DR Congo during the last month and cautioned that it was premature to declare the mpox outbreak contained. He suggested that with concerted efforts to implement vaccinations and strengthen surveillance and laboratory systems, “maybe by mid-January to February we’ll start to see a decrease in the cases of infection and deaths.” Tedros Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, emphasized the critical necessity for a synchronized worldwide response. The epidemic has now extended beyond the African continent, with instances documented in the UK, US, Sweden, India, Germany, Thailand, and Pakistan. For additional news concerning the African continent, visit BBCAfrica.com. Connect with us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa, or on Instagram at bbcafrica. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the material on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.