DR Congo reports over 1K suspected cases of monkeypox in 2022: WHO

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KINSHASA (XINHUA) – At least 1,284 suspected cases of monkeypox and 58 deaths had been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) by May 8, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

The Congolese provinces of Sankuru, Tshopo, Equateur, and Tshuapa have recorded 913 cases, accounting for about 75 per cent of suspected cases recorded across the country, tweeted the WHO office in the DR Congo.

Monkeypox is usually a mild self-limiting illness, spread by very close contact with someone with monkeypox, and most people recover within a few weeks.

Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, headache, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue and skin manifestations such as blisters.

According to media reports, a limited number of monkeypox cases have so far been reported in Britain, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United States.

This 1997 image provided by the CDC during an investigation into an outbreak of monkeypox, which took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), formerly Zaire, and depicts the dorsal surfaces of the hands of a monkeypox case patient, who was displaying the appearance of the characteristic rash during its recuperative stage. PHOTO: AP