
==== Front
New Microbes New Infect
New Microbes New Infect
New Microbes and New Infections
2052-2975
Elsevier

S2052-2975(24)00264-6
10.1016/j.nmni.2024.101480
101480
Letter to the Editor
Monkeypox crisis: A national public health concern in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Baraka Lucien lucbaraka40@gmail.com

Kihanduka Elie kihandukaelie@gmail.com

Department of research, Medical Research Circle (MedReC), Bukavu, DR Congo
Budair Mayar Moustafa mayarbudair@gmail.com

Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, New Giza University, Giza, Egypt
Rhugendabanga Francois frncoisrhugenda@gmail.com

Banga Styves bangasteven96@gmail.com

Onesime Jones jonesonesime@gmail.com
⁎⁎
Elembwe Hardy hardyassani@gmail.com

Hangi Samson wighana0@gmail.com

Rugendabanga Excellent rugexcel96@gmail.com

Akilimali Aymar aymarakilimali@gmail.com
⁎
Department of research, Medical Research Circle (MedReC), Bukavu, DR Congo
Medical Research Circle CollaboratorsBiamba Chrispin
Cakwira Hugues
Rajabu Gentil
Mufungizi Innocent
Tague Christian
Balume Alain
Muhoza Bonk
Sironge Leonard

⁎ Corresponding author. Department of research, Medical Research Circle (MedReC), Bukavu, Kyeshero Lusaka rue 218, Postal code 73, Gisenyi, Goma, North Kivu, DR Congo. aymarakilimali@gmail.com
⁎⁎ Corresponding author. Department of Research, Medical Research Circle (MedReC), Bukavu, Kyeshero Lusaka rue 91, P.O. Box 73 Gisenyi, Goma, North Kivu, DR Congo. jonesonesime@gmail.com
03 9 2024
12 2024
03 9 2024
62 10148024 6 2024
2 9 2024
© 2024 The Authors
2024
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords

Infection
Monkeypox
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Public health
World health Organization
Handling editor: Patricia Schlagenhauf
==== Body
pmcDear editor,

Monkeypox is an infectious disease common in tropical regions and is caused by the Orthopoxvirus. Monkeypox is transmitted to humans through direct contact with a contagious person, contaminated equipment or infected animals. Pregnant women can also transmit the disease to their fetuses [1], [2]. Symptoms of monkeypox include fever accompanied by a painful rash or mucosal damage that can last for weeks. It is also associated with headaches, muscle pain, lower back pain and enlarged lymph nodes [3].

In early 2023, monkeypox cases were primarily only observed in dense forest areas in the northern and central regions of DR Congo. The endemicity of the disease then increased from 11 out of 26 provinces to 22 in November 2023. In that same month, 12,569 cases of monkeypox were documented, including 581 deaths (case fatality rate: 4.6 %). This is the highest number of annual cases ever reported in the country [4]. Before 2023, the South Kivu province had not reported a single case of monkeypox. Currently however, it is in the grip of a monkeypox epidemic with more than 950 cases recorded since October 2023. The Kamituga health zone (in Mwenga territory) is the most affected by this epidemic, followed closely by the Nyangezi and Kamanyola health zones. This increase in cases is due to contamination through sexual relations. This is a relatively new method of transmission within the country which poses unique challenges in terms of diagnosis and case tracking [5].

In DR Congo, the dynamics of the Monkeypox Virus transmission are not well understood due to numerous reasons. They include the lack of access to diagnostic tools and difficulty of establishing a link between cases and possible contact with infectious animals. Faced with this situation, the population is urged to strengthen hygiene measures to combat the spread of the epidemic. Health authorities must call for vigilance and strict compliance with preventive measures to contain it.

The Ministry of Public Health with the help of its donors and partners must prepare a national plan in response to the epidemic. This includes the establishment of an urgent operations center to combat the virus. The center will assist in incident management and detection of smallpox throughout the country. It could also aid in the distribution of collection kits as well as the transport and examination of samples. Public health campaigns must be initiated to spread awareness regarding the risks of smallpox and the methods of its transmission. Health authorities and healthcare providers should be equipped with the necessary training and skills to help with case management and prevention. The implementation of the following solutions will result in a decline in the number of cases and possibly eradicate the disease entirely from population.

Ethics approval and consent to participle

Not applicable.

Funding

The authors did not receive any financial support for this work. No funding has been received for the conduct of this study.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and material

Not applicable.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Lucien Baraka: Conceptualization, Data curation. Elie Kihanduka: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis. Mayar Moustafa Budair: Conceptualization, Data curation. Francois Rhugendabanga: Conceptualization, Data curation. Styves Banga: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition. Jones Onesime: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Hardy Elembwe: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis. Samson Hangi: Conceptualization, Data curation. Excellent Rugendabanga: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis. Aymar Akilimali: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that there no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the direction of Medical Research Circle (MedReC) of Democratic Republic of the Congo for the realization of this present paper.
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References

1 Organisation Mondiale de la Santé Orthopoxvirose simienne : surveillance, enquête sur les cas et recherche des contacts : orientations provisoires Available at: https://www.who.int/fr/publications/i/item/WHO-MPX-Surveillance-2022.3 25 Août 2022 Cited by 19th June 2024
2 N'dilimabaka N. Mougnoko L.S.M. Mangombi-Pambou J.B. Mavoungou D.S.K. Koumba L.B. Moukouama S.K. No evidence of Monkeypox virus (MPXV) circulation in putative animal reservoirs in Gabon wildlife Int J Infect Dis 13 2024 Jun 107106 10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107106
3 Vakaniaki E.H. Kacita C. Kinganda-Lusamaki E. O'Toole Á. Wawina-Bokalanga T. Mukadi-Bamuleka D. Sustained human outbreak of a new MPXV clade I lineage in the eastern democratic republic of the Congo Nat Med 2024 Jun 13 10.1038/s41591-024-03130-3
4 Bulletins d’information sur les flambées épidémiques/Article/Variole simienne, République Démocratique du Congo 23 novembre 2023, https://www.who.int/fr/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2023-DON493#:∼:text=Premi%C3%A8re%20%C3%A9pid%C3%A9mie%20de%20variole%20simienne%20%C3%A0%20Kinshasa&text=Entre%20le%2018%20ao%C3%BBt%20et,%25%20parmi%20les%20cas%20confirm%C3%A9s).
5 RDC : plusieurs cas de variole du singe signalés au Sud-Kivu, la population appelée à la vigilance By estinfo.org Juin13 https://estinfo.org/rdc-plusieurs-cas-de-variole-du-singe-signales-au-sud-kivu-la-population-appelee-a-la-vigilance/ 2024
