In brief
Mpox is rapidly spreading in Kinshasa, with a new strain detected and hundreds of thousands of unused vaccines available. The situation poses a significant challenge to health officials.
In the heart of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the mpox virus is increasingly making its presence felt. Mireille Efonge, a local resident, shared her experience of falling ill with fever and painful blisters, leading to her diagnosis of mpox—something she had never heard of before. As this dangerous virus begins to spread among the population of 17 million residents, health experts express concern that opportunities to contain it have probably passed. In August, the World Health Organization declared mpox a global health emergency after identifying a fast-spreading strain in eastern Congo. The outbreak has escalated, now reaching crowded camps for displaced people and urban neighborhoods with limited sanitation. Despite the arrival of hundreds of thousands of vaccines to combat mpox, utilization has been alarmingly low. As the virus spreads, the urgency for effective public health interventions has never been greater.
