More than 500 mpox patients have vanished from medical facilities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo over the past month as conflict in the region escalates.
Officials from Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) have expressed deep concern, warning that those who fled could worsen the spread of the highly infectious disease, which is believed to have claimed around 900 lives in DR Congo last year.
The mass departure happened in Goma and Bukavu, two cities thrown into chaos after falling under the control of M23 rebels, a group reportedly backed by Rwanda in recent weeks.
“We were looted. We lost equipment. It was a disaster,” Dr. Samuel Muhindo, who manages a clinic in Goma, told the BBC.
Mpox, previously called monkeypox, is known to cause fever, skin lesions, and severe headaches.
According to Africa CDC, nearly 2,890 infections and 180 deaths have been recorded in DR Congo so far this year, with the country at the center of multiple outbreaks.
Dr. Muhindo recalled how 128 patients escaped from Goma’s Mugunga health center following heavy fighting at the end of January.
Efforts to locate them have failed, as medical records were destroyed during the attack, he said.
At Bisengimana Hospital in Goma, another mpox treatment site, raiders stole medication and protective equipment.
Fires were set outside the hospital, and when the looters withdrew, patient files lay scattered on the ground.
The crisis has worsened with M23’s recent order to shut down displacement camps in Goma, which had housed thousands fleeing past conflicts.
Residents were initially given 72 hours to leave, though the rebels later described the move as encouraging “voluntary returns.”
“Now we are afraid of an outbreak of the epidemic in the areas where the displaced people returned to,” Dr. Muhindo said.
Africa CDC has also raised the alarm.
“Once again, we are calling really for the ceasefire and also the agency to establish a humanitarian corridor to facilitate the continuation of mpox interventions,” Dr. Ngashi Ngongo, Africa CDC’s mpox incident manager, said on Thursday.
Over the past week, an additional 100 mpox patients have been reported missing, as rebel advances intensify, according to Africa CDC.
Dr. Ngongo also revealed that a new strain of mpox found in DR Congo could have “high potential for higher transmissibility.”
Efforts to contain the disease have been severely hampered by the ongoing conflict between M23 fighters and the Congolese army, as well as limited financial resources.
Despite support from UNICEF and the British government, the Mugunga treatment center only recently resumed operations.
However, severe overcrowding has left up to five patients sharing a single bed at times.
