An African man infected with the new, contagious Mpox strain Clade 1b talks about the terrible symptoms of the viral infection.
Egide Irambona, 40, is currently being treated in a hospital in his home country of Burundi as the Mpox outbreak in Africa continues, fuelling fears of another global pandemic.
Last week, the Director-General of the World Health Organization declared the Mpox outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern” after cases of Clade 1b were also recorded in Thailand and Sweden.
Clade 1b spreads primarily through heterosexual transmission and appears to be less lethal than other Mpox variants, but is apparently more contagious.
Irambona told the BBC that the disease causes unbearable pain: “I had swollen lymph nodes in my neck. It was so painful that I couldn’t sleep,” he explained. “Then the pain there subsided and moved to my legs.”
The number of infected people has risen to over 170 in Burundi in the last month, while the outbreak in Africa continues, with the painful disease causing blistering in patients.
Egide Irambona is one of these patients in the East African country. He told the BBC that he could not sleep because of the pain.
“I had swollen lymph nodes in my neck. It hurt so much I couldn’t sleep,” he explained. “Then the pain there subsided and moved into my legs.”
He has been receiving treatment at King Khaled University Hospital for nine days, where he shares a room with two other patients. He believes he caught the contagious viral infection from a friend.
“A friend of mine had blisters. I think I got them from him. I didn’t know it was Mpox,” he said. “Luckily, our seven children showed no signs of it.”
However, his wife is also infected and is being treated in the same medical facility where there are currently many cases – 59 of the 61 hospital beds are currently occupied by MPOX patients.
“We are now setting up tents outside,” Odette Nsavyimana, the doctor who runs the hospital, told the BBC, expressing concern about the rising number of cases.
If the numbers continue to rise, she added, “we don’t have the capacity to handle it.”
“It’s hard, especially when the babies come. They can’t stay alone, so I have to keep their mothers here too. Even if they don’t have any symptoms,” she continued. “It’s such a hard situation.”
While there are no confirmed deaths from the new Mpox strain in Burundi, limited testing is available to determine the true death toll of the outbreak.
“This is a real challenge. The fact that diagnosis is only done in one place delays the detection of new cases,” Dr Liliane Nkengurutse, national director of the Centre for Public Health Emergency Operations, told the BBC.
It takes time to find a team to collect and test samples, and it takes even longer to publish the results, she added. She estimates that about $14 million is needed to improve the response to the disease.
It is currently unknown when Burundi will begin administering vaccines against MPOX.
In the meantime, health authorities are urging the public to take care of their health, even if it proves difficult.
“Many people don’t understand the seriousness of this problem,” Nkengurutse explained. “Even where there are cases, people just mix with each other.”
When the BBC asked people in Burundi’s capital Bujumbura about Mpox, many did not know what it was or that it was spreading in their community.
“I have heard of this disease but have never seen anyone suffering from it. I have only seen it on social media,” said one anonymous person.
“I know it’s affecting babies and young people. I’m scared of it, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to stay home. I have to work. My family has to eat,” another unnamed person told the outlet.
