Fast-Spreading Mpox Variant Detected in Congo City of 17 Million
- Scientists found Ib strain co-circulating with another variant
- Kinshasa has direct flights to more than a dozen countries
A nurse treats a young child with mpox at the Kavumu hospital in Kabare territory, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sept. 3.
Photographer: Arlette Bashizi/BloombergMpox cases caused by the fast-spreading clade Ib variant and at least one other strain were detected in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s densely populated capital, which has direct flights to more than a dozen countries.
Co-circulation of clades Ia and Ib was reported for the first time in the central African city of more than 17 million people, researchers said in a study Wednesday. The finding, based on 11 mpox cases detected since July, indicates a fresh outbreak area 900 miles from the epicenter in eastern Congo, where a surge in mpox cases and subsequent spread to neighboring Burundi triggered a global health emergency last month.