٠٠:٠٣:٠٣Doctors and WHO workers said urgent hospital admission was key to treating the monkeypox (mpox) surge in Mpenda on Thursday, as the WHO declared a public health emergency following ongoing outbreaks in DRC and Africa.
“85 to 90 percent of the infected are cured if they are taken to hospital in time. Because if an infected person gets to an advanced stage with complications, it becomes difficult to treat them with the resources available here," Dr Papi Mola, Head of internal medicine at Bikoro General Hospital said.
One survivor told how his whole family were infected.
"My three children were also infected, the eldest was treated here and he was cured, the two youngest got worse. I took them to the hospital in Bikoro, we did two weeks and they were cured," he said. "After another week my wife also fell ill."
Cases of the latest, more dangerous type of mpox were subsequently reported for the first time outside Africa, in both Sweden and Pakistan. Footage shows workers giving out information to locals at a health point in the village in order to raise awareness of the disease.
"From the moment mpox was noticed in our area, we raise awareness much more when people come here to the hospital," community organiser Willy Yolokanga said.
On Wednesday, World Health Organisation chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus claimed that mpox is a 'public health emergency of international concern' due to its rapid spread in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other parts of Africa. Previously, the category was used for Ebola outbreaks, Covid-19 and a 2022 mpox surge in Europe.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the disease has been detected in 13 countries, with 96 percent of cases and deaths registered in DRC. This year the organisation has documented over 14,000 cases and 524 fatalities in the DRC alone while 38,465 cases were registered across Africa since January 2022.
Mpox is a viral infection that is transmissible both among humans and from animals to humans. The virus can spread through close physical interactions and contaminated items such as bedding, clothing, or needles, according to the WHO.
Mpox Clade 1 type, currently in Africa, can kill up to 10 percent of those infected, according to reports. It causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions. Vaccines exist but are usually only available to those at risk or in close contact with cases.
'85 to 90 percent' of mpox cases can be cured by early hospital admission - Health workers in DRC village as WHO declares emergency
Doctors and WHO workers said urgent hospital admission was key to treating the monkeypox (mpox) surge in Mpenda on Thursday, as the WHO declared a public health emergency following ongoing outbreaks in DRC and Africa.
“85 to 90 percent of the infected are cured if they are taken to hospital in time. Because if an infected person gets to an advanced stage with complications, it becomes difficult to treat them with the resources available here," Dr Papi Mola, Head of internal medicine at Bikoro General Hospital said.
One survivor told how his whole family were infected.
"My three children were also infected, the eldest was treated here and he was cured, the two youngest got worse. I took them to the hospital in Bikoro, we did two weeks and they were cured," he said. "After another week my wife also fell ill."
Cases of the latest, more dangerous type of mpox were subsequently reported for the first time outside Africa, in both Sweden and Pakistan. Footage shows workers giving out information to locals at a health point in the village in order to raise awareness of the disease.
"From the moment mpox was noticed in our area, we raise awareness much more when people come here to the hospital," community organiser Willy Yolokanga said.
On Wednesday, World Health Organisation chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus claimed that mpox is a 'public health emergency of international concern' due to its rapid spread in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other parts of Africa. Previously, the category was used for Ebola outbreaks, Covid-19 and a 2022 mpox surge in Europe.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the disease has been detected in 13 countries, with 96 percent of cases and deaths registered in DRC. This year the organisation has documented over 14,000 cases and 524 fatalities in the DRC alone while 38,465 cases were registered across Africa since January 2022.
Mpox is a viral infection that is transmissible both among humans and from animals to humans. The virus can spread through close physical interactions and contaminated items such as bedding, clothing, or needles, according to the WHO.
Mpox Clade 1 type, currently in Africa, can kill up to 10 percent of those infected, according to reports. It causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions. Vaccines exist but are usually only available to those at risk or in close contact with cases.
Doctors and WHO workers said urgent hospital admission was key to treating the monkeypox (mpox) surge in Mpenda on Thursday, as the WHO declared a public health emergency following ongoing outbreaks in DRC and Africa.
“85 to 90 percent of the infected are cured if they are taken to hospital in time. Because if an infected person gets to an advanced stage with complications, it becomes difficult to treat them with the resources available here," Dr Papi Mola, Head of internal medicine at Bikoro General Hospital said.
One survivor told how his whole family were infected.
"My three children were also infected, the eldest was treated here and he was cured, the two youngest got worse. I took them to the hospital in Bikoro, we did two weeks and they were cured," he said. "After another week my wife also fell ill."
Cases of the latest, more dangerous type of mpox were subsequently reported for the first time outside Africa, in both Sweden and Pakistan. Footage shows workers giving out information to locals at a health point in the village in order to raise awareness of the disease.
"From the moment mpox was noticed in our area, we raise awareness much more when people come here to the hospital," community organiser Willy Yolokanga said.
On Wednesday, World Health Organisation chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus claimed that mpox is a 'public health emergency of international concern' due to its rapid spread in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other parts of Africa. Previously, the category was used for Ebola outbreaks, Covid-19 and a 2022 mpox surge in Europe.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the disease has been detected in 13 countries, with 96 percent of cases and deaths registered in DRC. This year the organisation has documented over 14,000 cases and 524 fatalities in the DRC alone while 38,465 cases were registered across Africa since January 2022.
Mpox is a viral infection that is transmissible both among humans and from animals to humans. The virus can spread through close physical interactions and contaminated items such as bedding, clothing, or needles, according to the WHO.
Mpox Clade 1 type, currently in Africa, can kill up to 10 percent of those infected, according to reports. It causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions. Vaccines exist but are usually only available to those at risk or in close contact with cases.