Congo

Cause of 'Disease X' investigated after it killed 79 people in Congo

Almost 200 of the 376 afflicted with a flu-like illness are younger than five, said Jean Kaseya, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention

Joe Biden begins long-awaited Africa trip to secure win against China

At stake are vast supplies of minerals like copper and cobalt, which are found in Congo and are a key component of batteries and other electronics, and China is the top player in Congo as of now

Gold mining town in Congo becomes mpox hot spot as new strain spreads

Slumped on the ground over a mound of dirt, Divine Wisoba pulled weeds from her daughter's grave. The 1-month-old died from mpox in eastern Congo in August, but Wisoba, 21, was too traumatised to attend the funeral. In her first visit to the cemetery, she wept into her shirt for the child she lost and worried about the rest of her family. When she was born, it was as if God had answered our prayers we wanted a girl, Wisoba said of little Maombi Katengey. "But our biggest joy was transformed into devastation. Her daughter is one of more than 6,000 people officials suspect have contracted the disease in South Kivu province, the epicentre of the world's latest mpox outbreak, in what the World Health Organisation has labelled a global health emergency. A new strain of the virus is spreading, largely through skin-to-skin contact, including but not limited to sex. A lack of funds, vaccines and information is making it difficult to stem the spread, according to alarmed disease experts. Mp

Mpox scare: Centre asks states to review preparedness, screen all suspects

India on Sunday reported a suspected case of Mpox

Fast-spreading mpox variant detected in Congo's densely populated capital

Co-circulation of clades Ia and Ib was reported for the first time in the central African city of more than 17 million people

Congo receives its first mpox vaccine shipment to combat outbreak

With a population of around 100 million, the Congo is currently at the centre of the outbreak

Attempted jailbreak at Congo prison kills 129 people leading to chaos

An attempted jailbreak in Congo's main prison left 129 people dead, including some who were shot by guards and soldiers and others who died in a stampede at the overcrowded facility, authorities said Tuesday. One prominent activist put the death toll at more than 200. A provisional assessment showed that 24 inmates were fatally shot by warning" shots fired by guards as they tried to escape from the Makala Central Prison in the capital Kinshasa early on Monday, Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani said on the social media platform X. There are also 59 injured people taken into care by the government, as well as some cases of women raped, he said, adding that order had been restored at the prison, part of which was burned in the attempted jailbreak. Shabani did not elaborate on the incidents of rape in the prison, which has both male and female inmates, as well as military personnel facing charges. It wasn't immediately clear if all 129 fatalities were inmates and officials

At least 129 people died during an attempted jailbreak, says Congo

According to the government, 24 prisoners lost their lives by gunfire while the others died by jostling or suffocation

Congo's humanitarian crisis makes mpox spiral again into health emergency

Sarah Bagheni had a headache, fever, and itchy and unusual skin lesions for days, but she had no inkling that her symptoms might have been caused by mpox and that she might be another case in a growing global health emergency. She also has no idea where to go to get medical help. She and her husband live in the Bulengo displacement camp in eastern Congo, a region that is effectively ground zero for a series of mpox outbreaks in Africa. This year's alarming rise in cases, including a new form of the virus identified by scientists in eastern Congo, led the World Health Organization to declare it a global health emergency on Wednesday. It said the new variant could spread beyond the five African countries where it had already been detected a timely warning that came a day before Sweden reported its first case of the new strain. In the vast central African nation of Congo, which has had more than 96% of the world's roughly 17,000 recorded cases of mpox this year and some 500 deaths f

Mpox emergency response hit by scarce financing amid WHO calls for support

WHO has released $1.45 mn from its contingency fund for emergencies, while African Union has approved $10.4 mn from its existing Covid funds for Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention

16 killed, 20 abducted in Congo in attacks blamed on IS-linked rebels

At least 16 villagers were killed and 20 others were abducted in northeastern Congo during attacks by militants with ties to the Islamic State group, a local civil society group said Friday. The assailants with the Allied Democratic Forces staged a series of attacks on locals, some while working on their farmlands, between Wednesday and Friday in Ituri province's Mambasa territory, said John Vulverio, coordinator of the New Civil Society of Congo. The (death) toll remains provisional, as the fate of 20 others kidnapped remains unknown, he said. Among those kidnapped in the attacks were the mother and sister of Gilbert Sivamwenda, a local government official, local media quoted the legislator as saying. Dozens of villages across Congo are besieged by armed groups made up of either local rebels fighting for power and valuable mineral resources or militants with extremist ideologies. The Allied Democratic Forces have carried out growing attacks in the region and sometimes across the .

Mpox thriving near gold mines, refugee camps risks rapid spread in Congo

A strain of the virus - which causes lesions that can result in disfigurement, blindness, and even death - has erupted around the gold-mining town of Kamituga

Mpox now a global health emergency; 'easily transmitting': Causes, symptoms

Monkeypox (or Mpox) is part of the same virus family as smallpox but typically causes milder symptoms, such as fever, chills, and body aches

Sweden reports case of more infectious form of mpox 1st identified in Congo

Swedish health officials said Thursday they have identified the first case of a person with the more infectious form of mpox first seen in eastern Congo, a day after the World Health Organisation declared the outbreaks there and elsewhere in Africa to be a global emergency. The Swedish public health agency said in a statement the patient recently sought health care in Stockholm. In this case a person has been infected during a stay in the part of Africa where there is a major outbreak of (the more infectious mpox), the agency said. Magnus Gisslen, a state epidemiologist with the Swedish health agency, said the person had been treated and given rules of conduct. The fact that a patient with mpox is treated in the country does not affect the risk to the general population," Swedish officials said, adding that experts estimate that risk to be very low. They said, however, that occasional imported cases may continue to occur. Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a n

WHO calls emergency meeting over surge in mpox cases spreading from Congo

"The committee will meet as soon as possible and will be made up of independent experts from a range of relevant disciplines from around the world," Tedros posted on X

UN convenes experts to determine if mpox in Africa is global emergency

The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday he will convene an expert group to determine if the increasing spread of the mpox virus in Africa warrants being declared a global emergency. At a press briefing in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that given the increasing spread of mpox cases beyond Congo, he has decided to ask independent experts to advise WHO as soon as possible. Last week, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that mpox, also known as monkeypox, has now been detected in 10 African countries this year including Congo, which has more than 96% of all cases and deaths. Compared with the same time period last year, the agency said cases are up 160% and deaths have jumped by 19%. Officials at the Africa CDC said nearly 70% of cases in Congo are in children younger than 15, who also accounted for 85% of deaths. Mpox was reported last week in Burundi and Rwanda for the first time while other countries includin

70 killed, including nine soldiers, in militia attack in western Congo

At least 70 people, including nine soldiers and a soldier's wife, were killed when armed men attacked a village in western Democratic Republic of Congo, local authorities said, as violence intensifies between two rival communities. The attack took place on Saturday in the village of Kinsele, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Kinshasa, the capital. Because of insecurity and poor infrastructure in the region, deadly attacks can take days to be reported. Kinsele is located in the Kwamouth territory, where for the past two years conflict has raged between two local communities Teke and Yaka leading to deaths of hundreds of civilians. As Congo battles armed groups in the east, violence has also intensified in the western part of the country. The attackers were members of the Mobondo militia, an armed group presenting itself as defenders of the Yaka people. As of this morning (Monday, July 15), 72 bodies have already been found and the search continues to find other bodies in t

Sudan, Congo, Haiti top UN envoy's concerns for children in conflicts

The United Nations envoy charged with reporting on violations against children in conflicts around the world said that first and foremost she is worried about what's happening to youngsters in war-torn Sudan, followed by Congo and Haiti. Virginia Gamba told a news conference officially launching the secretary-general's annual report and UN blacklist of violators that she is also very worried about children caught in Myanmar's civil war and the spillover into neighbouring Bangladesh. For the future, on the horizon, she said, I'm worried about Somalia and Afghanistan. The report for the first time put both Israeli forces and Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants on the blacklist for violating children's rights in 2023 during Hamas' October 7 surprise invasion of southern Israel and its massive military retaliation in Gaza that is ongoing. The UN also kept the Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups on the blacklist for a second year over their killing and maiming of

More than 80 passengers killed in latest boat accident: Congo President

A boat carrying more than 270 passengers has capsized on a river near Congo's capital of Kinshasa, leaving more than 80 dead, President Flix Tshisekedi said on Wednesday. It was the latest deadly boat accident in the central African country where overloading is often blamed, including in February when dozens lost their lives after an overloaded boat sank. The statement quoting President Flix Tshisekedi says the locally made boat capsized late Monday in Ma-Ndombe province along the Kwa River. The boat was carrying 271 passengers to Kinshasa when it broke down due to an engine failure, according to the UN-backed Radio Okapi, citing Ren Maker, the water commissioner in the Mushi district where the accident happened. Eighty-six of the passengers died while 185 managed to swim ashore, some 70 kilometers (43 miles) near the closest city of Mushie, Maker said. He said the boat hit the edge of the river bank and broke up. Congolese officials have often warned against overloading and vowe

Fire at displacement camp in Congo leaves many families without shelter: UN

A fire at a displacement camp in eastern Congo destroyed around 50 makeshift tents, leaving dozens of families without shelter, according to the United Nations, which said the fire is believed to have started during cooking at a camp. The Muganga displaced people camp near the provincial capital Goma was hit by fire Wednesday. It had already endured bomb attacks in early May, which killed at least 18 people and injured 32 others, a U.N. spokesman said. It wasn't clear what type of explosives were used in those attacks. Most of the victims were women and children. While I was trying to empty the house of my valuables, I couldn't save my most precious items: my tokens to receive various humanitarian assistance, Anne Marie Nikuze, 60, a displaced person living in the camp with her children and grandchildren told The Associated Press. The little we had has also gone up in flames, she said. We escaped the recent bomb attacks and now, it's the fire that has struck us, Furaha Mulema Mariam