MPOX-PROBE is a two-year project funded by the European Commission and EDCTP3, and started on October 1, 2024. The African Institutions involved are Fondation Congolaise pour la Recherche Médicale (Republic of Congo), Société Congolaise pour la Santé mentale (Republic of Congo), University of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo); the European Institutions are: R-Evolution Worldwide Srl (Italy) and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spain). MPOX-PROBE is committed to fight the Mpox outbreak in sub-Saharan Africa.
About Monkeypox (Mpox)
Monkeypox is a rare viral zoonotic disease caused by a double stranded DNA virus that belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family. The disease presents with symptoms similar to smallpox but with a lesser severity. There are two known clades of the virus: clade I and clade II. The clade I, which is most frequently reported from countries in central Africa, tends to be more severe than clade II.
The natural reservoir of the MPXV is still unknown to date, jeopardizing the safety and health of the entire continent, including rural and urban communities in DRC and RoC.