By Byobe Malenga
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo (AA) - At least 23 cases of mpox have been detected as the disease continues to spread in the Kivu regions in the north and southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, doctors said.
Most of the cases are reported in a camp for internally displaced people on the outskirts of Goma city, Dr. Cris Kacita, director of mpox operations in Congo, told Anadolu.
Far from displaced persons' camps, mpox has also been detected in several towns in the eastern Congo, notably in Goma, Bukavu, Kamituga, Uvira, and Baraka.
The country still does not have a special support unit to counter the disease.
So far, some of the patients are in private hospitals, while some are in camps, the doctor said, adding: "It's a shame that we still don't have a support unit."
The WHO said it represented "a new risk of cross-border and international spread with the potential to lead to an increased risk of severe disease."
Since last January, The Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 11,087 mpox cases, including 443 deaths.
In 2022, the World Health Organization renamed monkeypox to mpox, saying the name of the disease had acted as a "racist and stigmatizing language."