The head of operations of the Mpox incident management system of the National Program for the Control of Smallpox and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers, Dr. Cris Kacita, informed that the disease is present in 13 of the 26 provinces of the country and Equateur continues to be the one with the highest incidence.

During the 22nd epidemiological week (May 27 to June 2), to which Kacita referred, three cases were detected in Kinshasa, in the health zone of N’sele, two of whom are hospitalized and are doing well, while the third person escaped from the treatment center, according to the Congolese Press Agency.

In this period alone, Equateur recorded 164 suspected cases and five deaths. The grim statistics, which as of last April totaled 241 deaths and 3,000 cases of the disease, continue to grow.

The DRC is currently among the countries most affected by Mpox, having registered 14,600 cases and 654 deaths last year.

jrr/jav/arc/kmg