Mpox patients fleeing Goma hospitals in DRC violence

Dozens of mpox patients being treated in hospital isolation units in Goma have fled for their lives as violence engulfs the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the WHO said Friday.

Meanwhile the UN refugee agency warned that hundreds of thousands of civilians were fleeing to areas beyond the reach of humanitarian aid, after shelters for displaced people were destroyed.

The M23 armed group, supported by Rwandan forces, has made advances in the province of South Kivu since Wednesday, after a few days of respite following a rapid offensive that saw its fighters claim the city of Goma in North Kivu province at the end of January.

The World Health Organization said there had been 1,348 laboratory-confirmed mpox cases in DRC this year until February 2, with no deaths.

"DRC in general is the worst-affected country for mpox," spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters.

He pointed out that Kivu was the epicentre of an outbreak of the deadly clade 1b variant of mpox, which has been recorded in countries around the world in recent months. It first emerged in South Kivu in 2023.

Lindmeier said the mpox response was being heavily impacted by the fighting between the M23 and Congolese army, especially in and around Goma. Some health facilities have been forced to close while others have been looted.

"Out of 143 confirmed mpox case patients in isolation units in Goma and around, 128 fled in fear for their lives," he said.

"Only 15 mpox patients -- about 10 percent -- remained in isolation," he said, stressing: "that's of course, dangerous for everybody".

Mpox can be passed between humans through close physical contact. It causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, and can be deadly.

Its spread caused the WHO to declare a public health emergency of international concern -- its highest alarm -- in August 2024, which remains in place.

Shelters destroyed

Meanwhile the UNHCR refugee agency warned the lack of access to displaced people was hampering relief efforts.

"The crisis is worsening as people flee to areas where humanitarian aid cannot reach them due to insecurity," spokeswoman Eujin Byun said.

She said heavy artillery shelling and looting had destroyed 70,000 emergency shelters around Goma and Minova, leaving some 350,000 IDPs once again without shelter.

A full 70 percent of the 28 IDP sites around Goma had been "destroyed", she said.

Byun said hundreds of thousands of displaced people were now in overcrowded makeshift shelters, churches, schools and hospitals.

"We urge all parties to stop attacks on civilian infrastructure and guarantee unhindered humanitarian access," said Byun.