Children at risk from the new mpoxit variant in the Congo

Signs of the mpox virus can still be seen on the face of 7-year-old Grace Kabuo, as well as some of her peers in the displaced persons camp near Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Grace has recovered from the virus, which is known as "monkey pox". Her mother, Denise Kahindo, says she is still unsure of how her daughter was infected at the beginning of the month, reports the "Reuters" agency.

"I only noticed the symptoms in her body," she said.

For disease experts, Grace's case represents a new concern for mpoxin, which was identified 50 years ago. The infection is caused by a new variant, which appears to be more capable of being transmitted than previous variants.

Local doctors say they saw 130 suspected cases of mpox, most of them in children and teenagers, over the past four weeks at the nearby facility that treats displaced people from the camps.

"50 percent of the cases are children under 5 years old," said Pierre-Olivier Ngadjole, medical advisor. "Children play together... and in the displaced persons' camps, people are very close to each other."
Mpox, a viral infection that can be spread through close contact, is usually mild, but in some cases can result in death. It causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.

The mpox outbreak in the Congo has so far registered 27 cases and killed more than 1100 people, most of them children, since the beginning of 2023. The new "Clade Ib" variant appears to be spreading more easily through close contact , as seems to be the case among children.