WHO: Common respiratory viruses seen in samples from remote DR Congo outbreak Further tests found seasonal flu, rhinovirus, COVID, and other common respiratory viruses, alongside malaria and complications from malnutrition. CIDRAP

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The WHO now refers to the outbreak as acute respiratory infections complicated by malaria. Officials said acute malnutrition led to an increase in severe illnesses and deaths.

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The detection of a new, fast-spreading strain of the virus in a remote mining town in eastern Congo led the World Health Organization to declare mpox a global public health emergency in August. Since then, its spread has only accelerated.

The virus is taking hold in crowded camps home to millions of displaced Congolese, who live crammed into rough shelters with limited access to water. And it has reached Congo’s cities, including its enormous, congested capital.

Belated efforts to control mpox in Kinshasa — by isolating patients and vaccinating their contacts — have been halting and haphazard, far outpaced by the speed of the virus’s spread and change.