An epidemic of mpox in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is spreading quickly, particularly among young children. At least 20,000 people are known to be infected in the country, and more than 600 people have died, more than two thirds of them children. Cases have begun to appear in neighbouring countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
Mpox is a serious, at times fatal, virus. The world knows how to prevent it. There are effective vaccines stockpiled in many western countries. Yet, after an earlier global epidemic in 2022 was largely brought under control in Europe and North America, the ongoing battle to protect people in Africa from mpox was ignored.
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we ask a virologist and a paediatrician why Africa’s mpox crisis was so neglected – and what needs to happen now to save lives, particularly children’s.
