Mpox (monkeypox) is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus. Two different clades exist: clade 1 and clade 2. On 14 August 2024, the multi-country outbreak and current upsurge of Mpox clade 1b was declared a Public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) by WHO. Mpox has been reported in the DRC for more than a decade, and the number of cases reported each year has increased steadily over that period. Last year, reported cases increased significantly, and already the number of cases reported so far has exceeded last year’s total, with more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths. The emergence last year and rapid spread of a new virus strain in DRC, clade 1b, which appears to be spreading mainly through sexual networks, and its detection in countries neighboring the DRC is especially concerning, and one of the main reasons for the declaration of the PHEIC. In the past month, over 100 laboratory-confirmed cases of clade 1b have been reported in four countries neighboring the DRC that have not reported mpox before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Experts believe the true number of cases to be higher as a large proportion of clinically compatible cases have not been tested.