Burundi doctor condemns govt silence on mpox epidemic

Mpox is present in almost every district in Burundi, a doctor warned Tuesday, condemning authorities handling of the outbreak and refusal to communicate.

In September, the East African nation was the second hardest-hit country on the continent after the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the United Nations warning that children were especially impacted by mpox.

“The management of the current mpox epidemic in Burundi by the authorities is catastrophic, irresponsible and criminal,” a Burundian doctor with knowledge of the details, who requested anonymity, told AFP.

NGOs regularly denounce political repression and human rights abuses, which have left people afraid of openly criticising the authorities.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact and can be deadly.

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The doctor in Burundi said officials had chosen to “hide the progress of this epidemic, which is now affecting almost every health district in the country”, alleging the government was preventing the ministry of health from publishing figures.

AFP saw official figures that showed 5,339 suspected cases from July 25 to December 12 — 50 percent of them positive — and cases detected in 46 of Burundi’s 49 health districts.

The doctor in the capital Bujumbura said the figures for December 13 were concerning, demonstrating the epidemic “continues to be active”.

“The mpox epidemic is not at all under control in Burundi, quite the contrary,” the doctor said, claiming that 10 cases were discovered daily and not recorded.

They accused “the highest levels of government of having opted for a cover-up”.

The doctor urged authorities to agree to use mpox vaccines offered by international agencies, “which it has so far refused”.

Contacted by AFP, neither the Ministry of Public Health nor the World Health Organization office in Burundi responded.

A local radio station manager, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the health ministry had refused to release daily reports on the epidemic’s spread and denied media access “even though the epidemic is continuing to spread in the country”.