In Burundi’s economic capital, Bujumbura, mpox patient Samuel Nduwimana, one of about 170 confirmed cases in the country, described his experience of feeling extremely ill and frightened, to the point where he could no longer walk.
Talking to AFP from an isolation ward in the city’s King Khaled Teaching Hospital, Nduwimana’s face and upper body are scattered with painful-looking marks.
“I started to lose my appetite, I had a fever and I felt a small pimple on my genitals that hurt a lot,” he said, describing the onset of symptoms, which he hoped was malaria.
“I didn’t even know what I was suffering from,” said Nduwimana, but as his conditions worsened he eventually sought treatment.
The virus that causes mpox, also known as monkeypox, is spread to humans by infected animals and can also be shared by people who are in close physical contact.
Although it has been known for decades, the recent increase in cases has been caused by a new, more transmissible, and deadly strain called Clade 1b.
East Africa has seen a sharp increase in cases; earlier this week, Burundi confirmed 171 cases; on Friday, Kenya discovered its second case; and neighboring Uganda reported four cases overall.
A global health emergency has been declared by the World Health Organization due to the most recent outbreak, which has also been reported to have occurred in Europe and Asia.
As medical professional Odette Nsavyimana treats the afflicted, Burundian authorities are working feverishly to contain the outbreak.
“Sometimes patients come in a severe, critical condition with a fever of 39 degrees Celsius,” she told AFP, swathed in protective gear including gloves and a mask.
The disease causes “very painful and itchy lesions that need urgent treatment”, she said.
“It aches a lot”
The Center for Public Health Emergency Operations’ national director, Liliane Nkengurutse, states that the facility accepts approximately fifty patients and offers free treatment.
As the illness spread from “hot zones” along the nation’s border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the number of cases was rising.
“cases (now) almost all over the country”, she told AFP.
The DRC has recorded 16,700 cases and more than 570 deaths this year, according to the central African country’s health minister.
In Burundi, Nkengurutse said, they were acting quickly to identify, isolate and then treat patients.
“We still don’t have any deaths, because we’re lucky enough to be able to detect cases quickly and take care of them early,” she said.
In the ward, Nduwimana, who praised the free treatment he had received, had a message for those who are worried they might have mpox.
“They need to rush to hospital for treatment.
“This epidemic is very serious, it hurts a lot, you’re in too much pain, and you don’t know what to do,” he said.
