'Everyone was afraid' The families on the mpox frontline

First, liquid-filled blisters developed on three-yearold Marceline Désiré's back.

- Carlos Mureithi NAIROBI and Ruth Alonga

Then about two weeks later, they appeared on her younger brother Jordan's body, starting from his neck and then spreading to his back. The two children spent weeks in hospital until they recovered.

As Marceline sat inside their tarpaulin shelter at the Mudja displacement camp last week, Jordan in the arms of their mother, Bambire Rwanika, next to her, lesions and scars caused by mpox were still visible.

"Everyone was afraid to approach the sick children," said Rwanika. "As a mother, I couldn't abandon them."

More than 17,000 cases of mpox, a viral disease that causes painful rashes and flu-like symptoms, have been reported in 13 African countries this year. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been the most affected, accounting for 96% of all cases and 97% of all deaths this year.

Cases of the disease on the continent have increased by 160% year on year. The fast rise in cases and spread of the disease across borders - several countries have reported cases for the first time led the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization to declare the mpox outbreak a public health emergency this month.