Mpox (Formerly Monkeypox)
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According to the CDC, “Mpox [formerly Monkeypox] is a rare disease caused by infection with the mpox virus. Mpox virus is part of the same family of viruses as variola virus, the virus that causes smallpox. Mpox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms, but milder, and mpox is rarely fatal. Mpox is not related to chickenpox.”
The World Health Organization explains that "Mpox is endemic in densely forested regions of West, Central and East Africa, particularly in the northern and central regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Eleven of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are identified as endemic for mpox, but in more recent years the total number of mpox cases and the number of provinces reporting mpox has been expanding, to 22 provinces as of November 2023."
The World Health Organization's recently showed that "From 1 January through 12 November 2023, a total of 12,569 suspected mpox cases, including 581 suspected mpox deaths (case fatality ratio: 4.6%), have been reported in 156 health zones from 22 out of 26 (85%) provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is the highest number of annual cases ever reported."
-Mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Nov. 2023)
-National Emerging Special Pathogens Training & Education Center Updates
Below: Geographic distribution of confirmed mpox cases by province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1 January – 7 October 2023. Source: WHO
Below: Geographic distribution of suspected mpox cases by province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1 January – 4 November 2023. Source: WHO
