Mpox variant hits Congo displaced persons camps, children at risk

The monkeypox virus variant has hit displacement camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo, affecting children, local media reported.

Local doctors say they have seen 130 suspected mpox cases, almost entirely in children and adolescents, in the last four weeks at a nearby facility that treats displaced people from the camps in the last four weeks.

For disease experts, a new variant that appears to be more capable of transmitting between people than previous strains hit displaced camps in Goma.

Mpox, a viral infection that can spread through close contact is usually mild but can lead to death in some cases. It causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.

The current mpox outbreak in Congo has already seen around 27,000 cases, and claimed more than 1,100 lives, most of them children, since the beginning of 2023.