A 21-year-old woman in Bunia, northeastern Congo, tested positive for mpox on Friday after being admitted Thursday, a local hospital director and two health officials told Reuters. A second woman is suspected and awaits test results; both are isolated and receiving care.
Hospital director Davin Ambitapio Musungufu said investigators are tracing contacts and seeking the source of the infection. Health official Adelard Lofungola said five suspected mpox cases in Bunia were under investigation and cases had risen in several parts of the country over the previous month. He said the Ebola outbreak was complicating monitoring of other infections.
Congo ended its mpox national public health emergency in April after a three-year outbreak with more than 34,000 confirmed cases, but authorities cautioned the virus had not been eradicated and could return. The Ebola epidemic in Ituri province, where Bunia is located, was declared on May 15; government data published Thursday listed 7,890 infections and 3,799 deaths.
