World’s Poorest Nation, Burundi, Gears Up to Fight Mpox
- Prime minister this week launched campaign to stop spread
- Citizens told to avoid contact, wash hands or sanitize
A man infected with Mpox lies on a bed at the Kamenge University Hospital's Mpox treatment center in Bujumbura, Burundi, on Aug. 22.
Photographer: Tchandrou Nitanga/AFP/Getty ImagesBurundi’s prime minister this week started a national campaign to stop the spread of mpox after a contagious subvariant of the virus spilled across its porous border with the Democratic Republic of Congo where hundreds of people including children have died.
Gervais Ndirakobuca told citizens to stop shaking hands and touching each other when they greet and said that public gathering places, such as churches and schools, must make provision for hand washing or sanitizing. Those with symptoms of the disease, which can cause raised lesions as well as fever and muscle aches, must be immediately taken to the hospital, he said.