2023 Outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo | Mpox | Poxvirus – CDC

Since January 2023, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reportedmore than 22,000 suspect mpox cases and more than 1,200 deaths.

There are two types of mpox, clade I and clade II. Clade I usually causes a higher percentage of people with mpox to get severely sick or die compared to clade II.

Clade I mpox occurs regularly, or is endemic, in DRC. The current outbreak is more widespread than any previous DRC outbreak, and clade I mpox has spread to some neighboring countries, including Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. These countries are all reporting cases of clade I mpox, and some of them have links to DRC. On August 14, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). This is the WHOs highest level of global alert, and the decision recognizes the potential threat this virus poses to countries around the world. The declaration focuses international attention on acute public health risks that require coordinated mobilization of extraordinary resources by the international community for prevention and response.

No cases of clade I mpox have been reported outside central and eastern Africa at this time, including the United States.

The risk to the general public in the United States from the type of mpox circulating in the DRC is very low.

CDC has made this assessment due to the limited number of travelers and no direct commercial flights from DRC or its neighboring countries to the United States. The risk might change as more information becomes available, or if cases appear outside central and eastern Africa.

People in the United States who have already had mpox or are fully vaccinated should be protected against the type of mpox spreading in DRC and neighboring countries. Mpox needs close or intimate contact to spread, so casual contact like you might have during travel is not likely to cause the disease to spread. The best protection against mpox is two doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine if youre eligible, People can also protect themselves by:

There are several outbreaks happening at the same time in DRC, with cases reported throughout the country, in the capital city of Kinshasa, and in some other large cities. In DRC, different provinces have outbreaks with different features. In some provinces, patients have acquired infection through contact with infected dead or live wild animals, household transmission, or patient care (transmitted when appropriate PPE wasnt used or available); a high proportion of cases have been reported in children younger than 15 years of age. In other provinces, the cases are associated with sexual contact among men who have sex with men and female sex workers and their contacts. These are first reported cases of sexual transmission with clade I mpox.

CDC has been supporting DRC mpox research and response for more than 20 years. CDC and other U.S. government agencies are on the ground in DRC helping partners in the country with disease surveillance, laboratory capacity including testing materials, strengthening workforce capacity, case investigation, case management, infection prevention and control, border health, and risk communication and community engagement. DRC has approved the use of vaccines in-country, so CDC is working with other U.S. government agencies and partners on a strategy for vaccination in DRC.

The Republic of the Congo (ROC), which borders DRC to the west, declared a clade I mpox outbreak in April 2024.There have also been confirmed clade I cases in Central African Republic (CAR), which borders DRC to the north.Clade I mpox is endemic to ROC and CAR, but the new cases appear to be linked to spread from DRC.In late July 2024, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, which sit on the eastern border of DRC, reported confirmed cases of mpox.Clade I mpox has not been known to be endemic in these countries.Although contact tracing is ongoing, some cases have links to DRC.Rwanda and Uganda have confirmed these cases are clade I MPXV. In Burundi, clade-specific testing is underway, but cases are presumed to be clade I because of DRC and Rwandas shared borders with Burundi. Person-to-person transmission has occurred during this outbreak, including through sexual contact, household contact, and within the healthcare setting. People have also gotten mpox through contact with infected wild animals.

CDC is working with Ministries of Health and in-country partners across the region on disease surveillance, laboratory capacity including testing materials, strengthening workforce capacity, case investigation, case management, infection prevention and control, border health, and risk communication and community engagement.

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2023 Outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo | Mpox | Poxvirus - CDC