Mpox patient describes harrowing symptoms of new strain amid fears of global outbreak: ‘So painful I couldn’t sleep’

An African man who contracted a contagious new strain of mpox known as Clade 1b is speaking out about the harrowing symptoms of the viral infection.

Egide Irambona, 40, is currently being treated at a hospital in his home country of Burundi, as Africa’s mpox outbreak continues, sparking fears of another global pandemic.

Last week, the World Health Organization’s Director-General declared the mpox outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern,” with cases of Clade 1b also recorded in Thailand and Sweden.

Clade 1b is spreading mainly via heterosexual transmission, and appears to be less deadly than other mpox variants, but is seemingly more contagious.

Irambona told BBC that the disease causes excruciating pain, stating: I had swollen lymph nodes in my throat. It was so painful I couldn’t sleep,” he explained. “Then the pain subsided there and it moved to my legs.”

have climbed to more than 170 in Burundi over the last month as Africa’s outbreak continues, the painful disease causing patients to erupt in blisters.

Egide Irambona is one such patient in the East African country, who told BBC he couldn’t sleep due to the pain.

“I had swollen lymph nodes in my throat. It was so painful I couldn’t sleep,” he explained. “Then the pain subsided there and it moved to my legs.”

He is currently nine days into treatment at the King Khaled University Hospital, where he shares a room with two other patients. He believes he contracted the contagious viral infection from a friend.

“I had a friend who had blisters. I think I got it from him. I did not know it was mpox,” he said. “Thankfully our seven children have not shown any signs of having it.”

His wife, however, has also been infected and is being treated at the same medical facility that is brimming with cases — 59 of the 61 hospital beds are currently occupied with mpox patients.

“We are now setting up tents outside,” Odette Nsavyimana, the doctor who runs the hospital, told BBC, expressing concern over the growing number of cases.

If the numbers continue to grow, she added, “there is no capacity for us to handle that.”

“It is tough, especially when the babies come. They cannot stay alone, so I have to keep their mothers here as well. Even if they have no symptoms,” she continued. “It is such a tough situation.”

While there have not been any confirmed deaths due to the new strain of mpox in Burundi, there is limited testing available to determine how fatal the outbreak really is.

“This is a real challenge. The fact that diagnosis is only done in one place delays detecting new cases,” Dr. Liliane Nkengurutse, the national director for the Centre for Public Health Emergency Operations, told BBC.

It takes a while to activate a team to take samples and test them, and it takes even longer for results to be released, she added, estimating that they need approximately $14 million to improve their response to the disease.

There’s currently no word on when Burundi will begin to administer vaccines for mpox.

In the meantime, health officials are urging the public to stay safe, although it is proving difficult.

“Many people do not understand the gravity of this issue,” Nkengurutse explained. “Even where there have been cases, people still just mingle.”

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 communities.

“I have heard about this disease, but I have never seen someone who suffers from it. I have only seen it on social media,” one anonymous person said.

“I know it affects babies and young people. I am scared of it, but that does not mean I will just stay at home. I have to work. My family has to eat,” another unnamed individual told the outlet.