Save the Children: Infant cases of mpox increasing in DRC due to overcrowded hospitals

Save the Children, the charity organisation, says cases of newborn babies catching the monkeypox (mpox) virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are on the rise.

Save the Children blamed the surge in cases on overcrowded hospitals.

Mpox, formerly monkeypox, is transmitted through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most cases are mild, but it can be fatal.

The new variant, known as Clade Ib and circulating mostly in Congo, spreads through close contact, as is the case among children.

In severe cases, mpox can lead to sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection that requires immediate specialist medical attention.

Save the Children said the close resemblance of some of the signs and symptoms of mpox to other common childhood illnesses—such as scabies and chickenpox—might be leading to late recognition and treatment, contributing to transmission and worse outcomes.

Last week, the Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said it would likely declare a public health emergency of continental security (PHECS) over mpox in the coming week.

This is because a new variant of the disease known as Clade Ib is spreading, mostly in DR Congo.

Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya have also reported cases of the new variant since mid-July.

Authorities have yet to decide if the rapid spread of the virus constitutes a global emergency.

In a statement on Monday, Save the Children said the rapid spread of the virus in DRC, which reportedly has about 90 percent of all cases, is putting a strain on an already fragile health system.

“In some health centres around Goma, patient intake is 4,000% higher than their capacity,” the statement said.

About 15,000 suspected cases have been identified in DRC so far this year, which has already surpassed the total number from last year.

“Children and families in the eastern DRC are in shock,” Greg Ramm, Save the Children country director in DRC, said.

“Their lives have already been blighted by years of conflict, displacement, and some of the highest rates of hunger in the world.

“The health system is already collapsing under the strain of soaring rates of malnutrition, measles, and cholera, coupled with the residual impacts of past Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks.

“To add a new deadly virus that is aggressively attacking children to the mix is a cruel stroke of fate.

“With the humanitarian response in the country already woefully underfunded, this is the critical hour for international donors to step up to curb the spread of this disease, support health services, and prevent more deaths of innocent people.

“We need to see a rapid ramp-up of vaccines and capacity increase to do this locally. We have just a few weeks before children go back to school—we must stop the spread now.”

Save the Children said it is responding to the mpox outbreak in North Kivu and South Kivu through water, sanitation, and health services support, and community alert systems for identifying and reporting suspected cases.

On Sunday, Nigeria mandated all travellers entering the country to fill out and submit a health declaration form over the Mpox outbreak in some parts of Africa.