Fighting mpox stigma key to ending Burundi outbreak quickly, UNICEF says

By Emma Farge

GENEVA (Reuters) - It is possible to end the mpox outbreak in Burundi within weeks, a U.N. health official said on Friday, but progress in Africa's second-worst affected country will depend on getting adequate resources and battling stigma associated with the disease.

The World Health Organization declared the recent outbreak of the disease, known for causing pus-filled blisters, an emergency in August after a new variant was identified.

Burundi has reported nearly 600 cases, second only to the Democratic Republic of Congo, but outbreaks are confined to a limited area and no deaths have been reported.

Paul Ngwakum, Regional Health Advisor for Eastern and Southern Africa for the U.N. children's agency (UNICEF), said that it was possible to end the outbreak within weeks.

"We can limit the spread, contain the virus, and potentially end the outbreak with no lives lost," he told reporters by video conference from Bujumbura. "I think if we have all the resources ... we can stop it very quickly."

One of the factors will be the ability to fight stigma by raising awareness of the disease, Ngwakum said, calling for the need to "dispel myths, and calm fears."

"It's scary ... If people are scared and don't want to come forth, it will take a long time," he added.

UNICEF is appealing for nearly $60 million for Burundi and five other countries.

About two-thirds of those infected so far in Burundi are children, Ngwakum said, and UNICEF is working to revive COVID-19-era remote learning plans so children can continue to learn from hospital or home while isolating.

Mpox is a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and blisters, and while usually mild, it can kill especially if people are battling another illness or are malnourished. In conflict-torn neighbouring Congo over 700 people have died from among 21,835 suspected cases of the disease, WHO data showed.

So far, cases have been reported by 15 African countries, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), warning on Thursday that the outbreak is still not under control.

(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Conor Humphries)

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