Clade Ib Mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): Clinical and Virological Report of the First Case in Kinshasa, the Capital City

Abstract

The ongoing mpox clade Ib outbreak was first detected in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and was associated with sexual transmission. It emerged in Kamituga, a mining city and spread rapidly in surrounding health zones and reached cities like Bukavu and Goma. Here, we describe the clinical, epidemiological, and virological characteristics of the first case of clade Ib in Kinshasa, the capital city in the western DRC. The case involved a young adult woman from Kinshasa who reported unprotected sexual contact with an occasional partner, a former friend, and subsequently developed genital lesions, including vesicles and pustules. These lesions evolved and spread to the entire body, including the limbs, eyes, and soles. The diagnosis was confirmed by PCR and sequencing allowed us to assign clade Ib. We show that infection with mpox clade Ib through sexual transmission can lead to limbal nodular keratoconjunctivitis and focal conjunctivitis as complications. Importantly, these results suggest that clade Ib may have been circulating silently in Kinshasa prior to the official declaration by the Ministry of Health. This also raises concerns about the potential risk of global spread, as is currently being observed. Further studies are needed to investigate whether subsequent outbreaks of clade Ib in Kinshasa may have emerged independently of introductions from Kivu, pointing to a more complex pattern of co-circulation that could define the mpox epidemic in the capital.