A laboratory-confirmed mpox case has been detected in Bunia, a city in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo that is also at the heart of the country’s deadliest Ebola outbreak, health officials said on Thursday.
The development has raised alarms about a possible resurgence of mpox as Congo continues to grapple with an escalating Ebola crisis. The Ebola outbreak, declared on May 15 in Ituri province, has so far infected 7,890 people and claimed 3,799 lives, according to government data released this week.
Confirmed and Suspected Cases
Hospital director Davin Ambitapio Musungufu said the confirmed mpox patient is a 21-year-old woman who was admitted on Thursday with widespread skin lesions typical of the disease. She tested positive on Friday and has been placed in isolation along with a second, 32-year-old woman who is now a suspected case pending lab confirmation. Both are being treated by a dedicated medical team.
Musungufu added that contact tracing and investigations to pinpoint the infection source are underway. Dr. Adelard Lofungola, a health official who previously served as deputy incident manager for Congo’s mpox response, said five suspected mpox cases in Bunia are currently under investigation and that mpox cases have risen in several parts of the country over the past month.
Health System Under Strain
Congo ended mpox’s status as a national public health emergency in April after a three-year outbreak that produced more than 34,000 confirmed cases nationwide, though authorities warned the virus had not been eradicated and could return. Lofungola noted that the ongoing Ebola outbreak is stretching the health system, making it harder to monitor and respond to other infections like mpox.
Mpox is a viral illness that causes fever and skin lesions and spreads primarily through close physical contact.
