The World Health Organisation has established that monkeypox is transmitted sexually in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, notably in its northern and central regions.
According to the WHO, the spread of this epidemic was mostly driven by sexual contact between males who have sex with men.
WHO stated that the first instances included a Belgian man with ties to the Democratic Republic of the Congo who tested positive for clade I after a visit to Kenge, Kwango province. Individuals who had sexual contact with him in the Democratic Republic of the Congo later tested positive for clade I MPXV, making this the first case of clade I MPXV infection connected to sexual transmission within a cluster.
WHO, on the other hand, is concerned about the rapid spread of the outbreak in the country, citing a considerable increase in the number of suspected cases.
“From 1 January to 12 November 2023, a total of 12 569 suspected mpox cases, including 581 suspected mpox deaths (case fatality ratio: 4.6%), were reported in 156 health zones across 22 of 26 (85%) Democratic Republic of the Congo provinces.” This is the highest number of annual cases ever reported, with new cases in previously unreported places such as Kinshasa, Lualaba, and South Kivu. “Among the 1106 suspected cases tested by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), 714 were positive for MPXV (positivity rate of 65%).”
To combat this threat, the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene, and Prevention has developed a budgeted national monkeypox preparedness and response strategy.
Meanwhile, the WHO has warned all countries to take precautionary measures to combat the spread.
“It is therefore strongly advised that countries continue to follow the Standing Recommendations of the Director-General of the WHO issued in August 2023, particularly concerning the epidemiological surveillance of mpox, strengthening of laboratory diagnostic capacities and genomic sequencing of viruses, community engagement, and risk communication, making vaccines available, optimal case management, strengthening research to better understand modes of transmission in different contexts, and sustained support for the development of rapid diagnostic methods and treatments tailored to the needs of patients.”
