About 500 people killed by Mpox in DRC since last year
Wednesday August 30 2023
Medical staff wearing protective equipment enter the quarantine area of the centre of the International medical NGO Doctors Without Borders in Zomea Kaka, Central African Republic on October 18, 2018. PHOTO | AFP
Simian smallpox (Mpox) is one of major health problems in the Democratic Republic of Congo, already, with some 500 people having been killed by the disease in the past year.
The European Union said on Tuesday that the disease, formerly known as Monkey pox, has spread nationwide, with an increase in the number of cases, deaths and population groups affected, reaching as far as the capital Kinshasa, where two patients were confirmed and treated last week.
Overall, a total of 9,000 cases have been detected in 2023.
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“The situation has prompted the EU to step up its support and extend it to 3 new health zones in the (East of DRC), by strengthening response capacities, particularly through surveillance, community awareness-raising, diagnosis and treatment,” stated the EU in a statement.
Dr Roger Kamba, Minister for Health in the DRC, nonetheless reassured the public.
“This disease is well known. It's a virus that occurs in animals, particularly monkeys, and occasionally passes to humans if they've been in contact with a sick animal.
“It's an endemic disease here (in the DRC). In other words, from time to time there is an outbreak of the disease here or there. It's not something new that people are discovering. This is not an epidemic that is just starting. People should not panic,” he said.
To combat the disease, the European Union said it was providing €350,000 ($379,907) humanitarian aid in response to the monkeypox epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“In Maniema province (eastern DRC), the capacity to detect and treat cases and control the epidemic has been strengthened since May 2022. At the Tunda Health Zone Treatment Centre, where 70 percent of cases and deaths are in children under the age of 15, the origin of patients this year has revealed epidemic outbreaks in new, previously unaffected areas.”
Those affected by Mpox in Kinshasa are thought to have come from Bandundu, in the west of the DRC, according to the Minister for Health, who confirms that these sick people have been isolated. This disease generally affects people who have fewer natural means of protection.
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It's a virus, and as with any virus, you have to avoid contact with the sick or their fluids to protect yourself," added Dr Roger Kamba.
People infected with Mpox develop symptoms such as acne, inflammation of the skin and high fever.