More residents flee mpox treatment centers in war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

​​​​​​​By James Kunda

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) - More residents continued to flee mpox treatment centers in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo due to the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said Thursday.

Diminishing testing capacity to track new cases has been cited because of the challenges in sample transportation that have been exacerbated by a freeze on US aid, according to Africa CDC head of the incident management support team based in Congo, Ngashi Ngongo.

Ngongo said in a virtual news conference that 605 mpox patients had fled treatment centers, an increase from the 500 he reported last week, raising concerns about the further spread within Congo and neighboring Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.

"We have continued with negotiations for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor so that we can at least get some humanitarian aid into North and South Kivu, especially that most organizations have withdrawn their staff due to the humanitarian situation," said Ngongo.

He did, however, express gratitude that the Health Ministry developed an emergency response plan, integrating mpox outbreak interventions to decentralize laboratory capacity and rebuild resilience in tackling the outbreak.​​​​​​​

M23 rebels have made major advances in the east of the country in recent months since the group resumed its insurgency in late 2021.​​​​​​​

The ongoing conflict between the rebel group and the Congolese armed forces has triggered a humanitarian crisis in the region.