Epidemiological and genomic evolution of the ongoing outbreak of clade Ib mpox virus in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

Nature

In September 2023, an ongoing mpox outbreak emerged in South Kivu (DRC) which spread to other regions and countries. We describe the epidemiological and genomic evolution of the outbreak between September 2023 and June 2024. Samples were collected from hospitalized patients, along with data on residence and possible exposures. Employee numbers and locations were recorded for bars with sex workers. Where possible, exposures were linked to genomic sequencing data for cluster analysis. In total, 670 cases were admitted to Kamituga hospital from 17 health areas. Of the cases, 52,4% were in females, and 47,6% in males. 

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