Scars from the mpox pustules are still visible on seven-year-old Grace Kabuo’s face, as well as on a handful of her playmates at a camp for displaced people near Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her mother Denise Kahindo says she is still unsure how her daughter was infected earlier this month.
For disease experts, Grace’s case embodies a new concern about a new and more transmissible variant of mpox in Congo. Local doctors have treated 130 suspected cases, mostly in children, highlighting the severity of the outbreak due to increased transmission between individuals.
The spread of the new variant, Clade Ib, has caused over 27,000 cases and claimed more than 1,100 lives since the beginning of 2023. Despite recent approval of mpox vaccines, challenges remain in accessing necessary medical tools and treatments in the densely populated displacement camps.
Efforts are underway to investigate the new variant’s transmissibility and severity, with experts warning of potential risks to children as more cases are detected.
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