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News
Congo is now juggling two viral crises at once. A confirmed mpox case has emerged in Bunia — the same city at the heart of the country's worst-ever Ebola outbreak. Health officials warn the Ebola crisis is hampering their ability to monitor and contain other infections, with five suspected mpox cases currently under investigation in the area.
Congo is facing a dangerous double outbreak. A laboratory-confirmed mpox case has been identified in Bunia, a city in Ituri province that is also the epicenter of the country's deadliest Ebola outbreak on record. The confirmed patient is a 21-year-old woman presenting with body lesions consistent with mpox, and a second suspected case is awaiting lab results. Both patients have been isolated and are under dedicated medical care.
The timing couldn't be worse. Congo only declared an end to mpox as a national public health emergency in April, following a three-year outbreak with over 34,000 confirmed cases — though officials warned at the time that the virus hadn't been eradicated. Health officials now report a rise in mpox cases across multiple parts of the country over the past month, with five suspected cases in Bunia alone under active investigation.
By the Numbers
Why it matters: The convergence of Ebola and mpox in the same region is stretching Congo's health infrastructure thin. Officials warn that the Ebola outbreak is directly complicating surveillance and response efforts for other infections — raising the risk that mpox could spread undetected before containment measures can take hold.
