"Don't know where to go"

Hundreds of Mpox patients have fled without treatment

In addition to the already volatile situation in Congo, a dangerous Mpox variant is also spreading.

(Bild: AFP/Glody MURHABAZI)

In eastern Congo, an Mpox epidemic is threatening to take on uncontrollable proportions. Hundreds of infected people on the run, malnourished refugees, looted health facilities - a deadly cocktail. Are the refugee camps becoming the epicenter of a new pandemic?

The director of the African health authority CDC Africa, Jean Kaseya, warns of an escalation of the current outbreak of the disease in view of the escalation of the conflict in eastern Congo.

In the province of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 400 patients have fled from the Mpox treatment centers. "We don't know where these people are and we are very worried, said Kaseya in his agency's weekly briefing.

Probably the most dangerous variant is rampant
South Kivu is considered one of the focal points of Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, in the Central African country particularly affected by the outbreak. The potentially more dangerous variant of the disease is also widespread here. Last August, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the highest alert level due to the Mpox outbreaks in Africa and the new, potentially more dangerous variant. This is intended to mobilize authorities around the world to be more vigilant.

Since the beginning of the year alone, almost 19,000 suspected cases of Mpox have been reported in 13 countries in Africa. In the past three weeks - since the advance of the rebel militia M23 in eastern Congo and the conquest of two provincial capitals - fewer cases have been reported from the country. However, this is due to the insecurity in the region, the flight of hundreds of thousands of people and the collapse of testing facilities for suspected cases.

"We are playing with fire"
 The reasons for this are the consequences of the conflict and the cessation of funding from US aid, said Kaseya. "We are playing with fire," he warned. There is an increased risk that Mpox will spread more quickly in the refugee camps. Contacts could not be traced, several health facilities had been looted and many refugees were malnourished and could therefore have a more severe course of the disease.