In Africa's monkeypox outbreak, sickness and death go undetected

Dr. Fabien Kongolo gives a morning briefing to nurses and trainee doctors at the Yakusu General Hospital, in Thsopo, Democratic Republic of Congo, October 5, 2022. "I'm the one who detected the first case in Yaboya health area. The case was notified but unfortunately there was no response to our request. The outbreak had to be raging in the West for it to be declared in the DRC as well," Dr. Kongolo said. "We have no support for this disease." REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi

YALOLIA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - At a village clinic in central Congo, separated from the world by a tangle of waterways and forests, six-year-old Angelika Lifafu grips her dress and screams as nurses in protective suits pick at one of hundreds of boils that trouble her delicate skin.

Her uncle, 12-year-old Lisungi Lifafu, sits at the foot of her bed, facing away from the sunlight that pours through the doorway and pains his swollen, weeping eyes. When nurses approach, he raises his chin, but cannot look up.