Where and why is mpox disease spreading in the DRC?

Colourised electron microscope image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, showing mpox particles, (red) within an infected cell (blue), cultured in a laboratory in Fort Detrick, Maryland, US on May 25, 2023 [NIAID/AP]

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is experiencing the biggest outbreak of the viral mpox disease ever recorded, with tens of thousands of people infected as of June. In December 2022, the government declared it an epidemic.

Formerly called monkeypox, the mpox disease is caused by the monkeypox virus, and is typically zoonotic – that is, it can be transmitted from animals to humans.