KINSHASA, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cases of mpox in children and young people under the age of 19 in the worst-hit province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have skyrocketed about 75-fold so far this year, global charity Save the Children said in a statement on Monday.
Cases in the DRC's eastern province of South Kivu are spreading more than twice as fast in children as in the general population, according to a new analysis, as health workers race to curb the spread of the virus as the new school term starts this week, said the statement.
According to the global charity, analyzing data from the DRC's health ministry, 15 cases of mpox were recorded in the first four weeks of 2024, compared to 1,192 cases in the four weeks between July 22 and Aug. 18 among children and young people.
With the delivery of vaccines to the DRC and neighboring countries delayed, Save the Children called on the international community to step up funding so that schools can ensure they have adequate clean water, hygiene, and sanitation measures for children in the next few weeks.
The latest mpox variant, clade 1b, was reportedly detected in the DRC in September 2023 and recently found in neighboring countries and other parts of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of the virus to be a public health emergency of international concern in August.
To date, about 90 percent of reported cases of mpox are in the DRC, where it has infected at least 18,000 people and led to 615 deaths, according to the WHO. South Kivu Province has become the epicenter, accounting for nearly half (46 percent) of the country's new cases in the past four weeks leading up to Aug. 18, the highest of any province. Of these cases, two-thirds have been in children.
"This country has borne the brunt of health crises before -- from Ebola to cholera to measles. Enough is enough -- this deadly new mpox strain should be the ultimate call for the world to commit to investing in disease control and prevention so that children and families do not suffer needlessly," said Greg Ramm, Save the Children country director in the DRC. ■
