Mpox case confirmed in Bunia amid Ebola outbreak — TimesLIVE

In the city of Bunia in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a case of mpox has been laboratory-confirmed in a 21-year-old woman. She went to hospital on Thursday with a rash all over her body characteristic of the disease and received a positive test result on Friday, TimesLIVE reports, citing the head of the local hospital, Davin Ambitapio Musungufu, and health system representatives.

Patients isolated

Another woman, aged 32, is a suspected mpox case. She is awaiting laboratory test results. Both patients have been isolated and are being cared for by a separate medical team.

According to Musungufu, medics are identifying the confirmed patient's contacts and trying to determine the source of the infection. Doctor Adelar Lofungola, who was deputy head of the mpox response in the DRC, said that five suspected cases of the disease are also being investigated in Bunia.

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Strain due to Ebola

Bunia is located in Ituri province, where an Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15. According to government data released on Thursday, 7,890 people were infected and 3,799 died during this outbreak.

Mpox is a viral disease that causes fever and skin lesions and is transmitted through close physical contact. In April, the DRC lifted the public health emergency status for mpox after a three-year outbreak during which more than 34,000 cases were confirmed in the country. At the time, authorities warned that the virus had not been eliminated and could spread again.

Lofungola noted that over the past month, medics have recorded an increase in mpox cases in several parts of the country. According to him, the Ebola outbreak complicates the monitoring of other infections because of the strain on the healthcare system.