Covering an Mpox epidemic in Congo: kilometer after kilometer of mud

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and gives a behind-the-scenes look at how our journalism is done.

Last July, I read an article in a medical journal about a puzzling new strain of the mpox virus that had emerged in Kamituga, a rundown mining town in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 2,000 kilometers from the where the mpox was known to be. endemic. It appeared to spread primarily through sexual contact, moving quickly between people. This behavior has never been observed in mpox before.

Soon, the new strain spread to half a dozen countries in Africa, leading the World Health Organization to declare a global emergency.

Much of what I heard reminded me of the early days of the HIV crisis. A virus jumps from an animal to a human host, circulates for years in small, isolated communities in central Africa, and eventually transportation systems, migrant workers, and sex networks turn it into a much more widespread problem.

I’ve been reporting on HIV for more than 25 years and have seen how scientists slowly piece together the story of HIV’s origin. But with this new mpox strain, genetic sequencing – and the rapid intervention of health workers – made it possible to unravel the mystery in just a few months.

I wanted to travel to Kamituga. I imagined that I could learn and report a lot by being there to see for myself the response to mpox.

In November, I landed in Kinshasa, where I spent a few days speaking with health officials before flying to Goma, in the east of the country. There, I met a local journalist who contributes to the New York Times, Caleb Kabanda, and photographer Moses Sawasawa. We took a boat across Lake Kivu, stopped at the village docks to drop off passengers, and finally landed in the bustling town of Bukavu.