As New MPox Strain Spreads, Bustling Gold-Mining Town In Congo Emerges As Hotspot: Report

A gold-mining town in eastern Congo has emerged as a hotspot for mpox as a new strain spreads, the Associated Press (AP) has reported. Kamituga is part of the South Kivu province, where more than 6,000 people are suspected to have contracted the virus. South Kivu is the “epicenter of the world’s latest mpox outbreak, in what the World Health Organization has labelled a global health emergency”, the report noted.
The new strain of the virus is reportedly spreading largely through skin-to-skin contact, including but not limited to sex. 
As per the report, experts say that a lack of funds, vaccines and information is making it difficult to stop its spread. Overall, Congo has more than 21,000 of the 25,093 confirmed and suspected mpox cases in Africa this year, according to WHO’s most recent count.
As per the report, health officials have zeroed in on Kamituga, a remote yet bustling gold mining town of some 300,000 people that attracts miners, sex workers and traders who are constantly on the move. Cases from other parts of eastern Congo can be traced back to Kamituga where it first originated in the nightclub scene, the AP report notes. 
Mostly, mpox causes mild symptoms such as fever and body aches, but it can trigger serious cases, that include blisters on the face, hands, chest and genitals. Mpox spread undetected across Africa for years until a 2022 outbreak reached more than 70 countries, the report states. Globally, gay and bisexual men made up the vast majority of cases in that outbreak. According to AP, officials note that children are affected disproportionately in Africa. They also say that cases are now rising among kids, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups with many types of close contact responsible for the spread.
Africa doesn’t have the capacity to produce mpox vaccines and they are scarce.
According to a report by The Guardian, a batch of 500,000 mpox vaccines were bought by the vaccine alliance, Gavi. They will be delivered to mpox-affected countries in Africa. About 10 million vaccines are needed to meet the demand. On September 5, Congo received 100,000 vaccines as part of an EU donation programme, with another 100,000 scheduled to arrive on September 7, according to an earlier report in the British daily. Congo has reported more than 700 deaths from mpox. Neighbouring countries Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya have each reported a handful of cases.
According to Reuters, rich countries such as Japan, the US and Canada have stockpiled millions of doses of mpox vaccines but only pledged a fraction of it to help stop the outbreak in Africa.