KAVUMU, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Dozens of feverish patients lay on thin mattresses on the floor of a makeshift mpox isolation ward in east Democratic Republic of Congo, as overstretched hospital workers grappled with drug shortages and lack of space to accommodate the influx.
Congo is the epicentre of an mpox outbreak that the World Health Organization declared to be a global public health emergency last month.
But at the hospital complex in the town of Kavumu, where 900 symptomatic patients have been taken in over the past three months, health workers are desperate for support.
“We run out of medicine every day,” said head doctor Musole Mulamba Muva.
“There are many challenges we struggle to overcome with our local means,” he said, noting that donations from international organisations rapidly dwindled.
Last week there were 135 patients in the mpox ward, children and adults combined, crammed between three large plastic tents pitched into damp earth without a floor cover.
Relatives that usually provide the bulk of meals in underfunded public facilities such as the Kavumu hospital were banned from visiting the mpox ward to avoid contamination.
TRADITIONAL REMEDIES Mpox causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions and, while usually mild, it can kill.
Like other mothers in the Kavumu mpox ward, Lukangira had started improvising with traditional remedies to ease her baby’s pain.
There were 19,710 suspected cases of mpox reported since the start of the year in Congo by Aug. 31, according to the health ministry.
KAVUMU, Democratic Republic of the Congo, September 2 (Reuters) – Overworked hospital staff in the east of the country struggled with medication shortages and a shortage of space to house the influx of feverish patients, who were lying on thin mattresses on the floor of a makeshift mpox isolation ward.
The World Health Organization last month declared a global public health emergency due to an mpox outbreak with its epicentre in Congo.
Nonetheless, medical staff at the Kavumu hospital complex, where 900 symptomatic patients have been admitted during the previous three months, are in dire need of assistance.
“Every day, we run out of medicine,” chief physician Musole Mulamba Muva stated.
Noting that donations from international organizations were rapidly decreasing, he said, “There are many challenges we struggle to overcome with our local means.”.
In the MPOC ward last week, three sizable plastic tents were positioned in damp earth without a floor covering, housing a total of 135 patients, both adults and children.
Visitors were prohibited from entering the mpox ward in order to prevent infection from relatives who typically supply the majority of the meals in underfunded public facilities like the Kavumu hospital.
The mother of a toddler admitted to the hospital, Nzigire Lukangira, 32, stated, “We have nothing to eat.”.
She prodded honey into her daughter’s mouth and said, “When we ask for something to lower our children’s temperature, they do not give us anything.”.
Cris Kacita, the head of Congo’s mpox response team, admitted that sending donations—including 115 tonnes of medicine from the World Bank—was a top priority because parts of the sizable central African nation lacked access to medical supplies.
CLASSICAL MEDICATIONS.
Even though mpox is typically mild, it can still be fatal. It causes pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms. There is an increased risk of complications for children, pregnant women, and individuals with compromised immune systems.
To help her baby feel better, Lukangira had taken to improvising traditional remedies, just like other mothers in the Kavumu mpox ward. Their children’s blisters were popped after they dipped their fingers in potassium bicarbonate or salted lemon juice. The same thing was done to adult patients.
The town and its neighboring villages accounted for the majority of cases. There are now two additional improvised mpox wards in the vicinity.
Doctor Serge Munyau Cikuru, a representative of the local health ministry, urged the government to keep promoting vaccines.
Nine priority areas and high-risk contacts have already been identified for the first vaccination phase, according to Kacita.
By August, 19,710 suspected cases of mpox had been reported in Congo since the year’s beginning. The health ministry claims that 31. Out of them, 655 were fatal and 5,041 were confirmed.
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