Risk of cross border Mpox contagion looms as virus reaches eastern DRC

A deadlier strain of the Mpox virus is reported to be spreading in eastern DRC towns, nearly a year after it has been first found in the South Kivu, as doctors warn of a pandemic risk.

As the virus was detected in 25 cases in the country’s restive east, there are fears it could spread outside DRC’s border and become a pandemic, doctors explained to the Telegraph.

“There is a risk that the outbreak could go outside the country, and that risk is increasing,” Dr Placide Mbala-Kingebeni, head of epidemiology and global health at the University of Kinshasa, told the Telegraph.

The virus, first found in the South Kivu province, can be passed through sexual transmission as well as skin-to-skin contact, scientists say.

They estimate the fatality rate at around 5% in adults and 10% in children.

A worldwide epidemic of mpox in 2022 was brought under control by vaccinating vulnerable groups.

Official figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) show there have been nearly 8,000 cases this year in DR Congo, including 384 deaths – almost half of these among children under 15.