In the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a remote mining town called Kamituga became the epicenter of a viral mystery last year, the New York Times reports.
A puzzling new strain of mpox—previously associated with limited outbreaks—was spreading in an unprecedented manner, primarily through sexual contact. Its emergence in Kamituga, over 1,200 miles from regions where the virus was historically endemic, set off alarms and eventually led to the World Health Organization declaring a global emergency.
Covering this outbreak required navigating not only scientific complexities but also geographical and infrastructural hurdles. The journey began in November with a flight to Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital, followed by a stop in Goma, a bustling city in the east. From there, a team of journalists and health professionals embarked on a challenging overland expedition to Kamituga.
The road to Kamituga deteriorated quickly, forcing the group to trade their Land Rover for motorbike taxis as they navigated treacherous mud tracks. Torrential rain turned the route into a quagmire, often bringing progress to a halt. Locals had transformed some of the worst stretches into informal industries, pushing and pulling vehicles up muddy hills in exchange for payment. One particularly infamous stretch earned the nickname “Mordor,” a reference to the perilous landscapes in The Lord of the Rings.
Upon arrival in Kamituga, the team visited the local hospital, where the first cases of the new mpox strain had been identified by Dr. Steeve Bilembo and nurse Fidèle Kakemenge. Their discovery had drawn global attention, with epidemiologists and virologists traveling to this remote town to study the outbreak. Patients in the hospital’s isolation ward ranged from adults to a five-week-old infant, highlighting the virus’s reach.
In Kamituga, the team also visited a maison de tolérance—an establishment where sex workers shared stories of their painful infections. The conditions of their work, compounded by poverty and limited access to healthcare, had fueled the virus’s spread. The vulnerability of these women and their children underscored the social and economic challenges intertwined with public health crises.
The return journey proved even more arduous. Vehicles, including one transporting temperature-sensitive virus samples, became stuck in the mud. Passersby and even children helped free travelers and equipment in exchange for small payments. Delays forced the team to take a longer route, eventually spending the night in a small church after hours of backtracking.
Despite the setbacks, the team managed to deliver the virus samples to a boat bound for Goma just in time, ensuring their preservation for further analysis.
