mpox

Health authorities have confirmed a case of mpox in a city in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo that is already at the centre of an Ebola outbreak. The finding raises concerns about two serious disease outbreaks overlapping in the same region, where health systems and response teams are already stretched. Observers are watching for signs of wider spread and for how authorities manage both outbreaks simultaneously.

A case of mpox has been confirmed in Bunia, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, raising concern because the city is already at the centre of an Ebola outbreak. Health authorities now face the challenge of responding to two dangerous diseases at once in the same area, stretching testing, treatment and contact-tracing capacity in a region with fragile medical infrastructure.