The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that children, pregnant women and people with weak immune systems are at higher risk from the mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Reports confirm that children under five account for 39% of all cases in the country, and babies as young as two weeks are being diagnosed with this viral illness. Nadia Adjoa Sam-Agudu, an expert in paediatric infectious diseases, explains how mpox can be dangerous for children and what must be done to protect them.
Why is the DRC outbreak affecting children so badly? Because of conflict, political instability and insecurity, large parts of the DRC have not had stable, consistent, sustained health responses or health prevention. As a result, it’s hard to control infectious diseases like mpox. In addition, children in any outbreak setting are already vulnerable given their immature and still-developing immune systems, especially under the age of five.
In a paper on paediatric mpox , my colleagues and I reported that children in Africa were much more vulnerable to monkeypox virus infection than children elsewhere. About 2% of those infected globally were under the age of 18 years, while children in Africa constituted nearly 40% of cases. These statistics are due to a combination of things: living in a country where mpox is consistently present (endemic), exposure through contact with animals, and not having the benefit of a vaccine.
Smallpox vaccine is effective against mpox, but this w.