The confirmed patient is a 21-year-old woman who was admitted to hospital on Thursday with lesions consistent with mpox and tested positive on Friday, hospital director Davin Ambitapio Musungufu and two health officials told Reuters. A second woman, aged 32, is being treated as a suspected case while laboratory results are pending. Both women have been isolated and are receiving care from a dedicated medical team.
Authorities are tracing contacts and investigating the source of infection. Adelard Lofungola, a health official who previously served as deputy incident manager for Congo’s mpox response, said five suspected cases in Bunia were under investigation. He also reported increased mpox cases in several parts of the country over the past month.
The case comes after Congo declared an end in April to mpox’s status as a national public-health emergency, following a three-year outbreak that produced more than 34,000 confirmed cases nationwide. Authorities warned then that the virus had not been eradicated and could return.
Bunia is in Ituri province, where an Ebola epidemic was declared on May 15. Government data published on Thursday listed 7,890 infections and 3,799 deaths. Lofungola said the Ebola outbreak is complicating efforts to monitor other infections, placing additional pressure on disease surveillance and response in the province.