Press release / News | Mpox Biology, Outcome, Transmission and Epidemiology (Mbote) Study

Press release

RTBF & La Libre (Belgian media)

Belgium reaffirms its commitment to the fight against HIV by supporting people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the DRC through initiatives like the MBOTE-HIVAX clinical trial, which was visited on August 19, 2025 by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Prévot at Kabinda Hospital :
Read full article (in French) (RTBF)
Read full article here (in French) (La Libre)

22 July 2025 - Interview with Dr Placide Mbala (ITM, Belgium)

A leading Congolese medical doctor and virologist named one of Nature’s 10 most influential scientists for his groundbreaking work on mpox

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23 June 2025 - Mpox virus transmissible from mother to child during pregnancy (ITM, Belgium)

The new variant of the mpox virus, which spreads through skin and sexual contact, can also be transmitted from mother to unborn child via the placenta. This has been revealed by research conducted by the Congolese National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) and ITM. The transmission can lead to serious pregnancy complications, including miscarriage and stillbirth.

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Time100 Health: Placide Mbala

https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2025/7279585/placide-mbala/

6 February 2025 - Mpox incidence nearly quadruples in 14 years (ITM, Belgium)

The number of mpox cases has almost quadrupled in the past 14 years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Children under five are particularly at risk. Rural populations are also particularly affected. An analysis by ITM and the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) in the DRC, published in The Lancet, shows that the virus continues to spread and the way in which it is spreading continues to evolve.

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The New York Times

9 December 2024 - Can Congo contain its exploding mpox epidemic—and curtail its international spread? (Science)

Science Magazine explores the dramatic surge of mpox cases in the DRC, the global implications, and the efforts by scientists and public health officials to contain it.

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25 November 2024- Largest study of its kind reveals new insights into Clade Ib of mpox and challenges early fears (ITM, Belgium)

In the largest study of its kinds, researchers have new insights into the new Clade Ib variant of mpox, challenging early fears of it being the ‘deadliest variant’. Conducted in a remote area of Eastern DRC, where the outbreak began, the study followed over 400 individuals infected with Clade Ib. Researchers from the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) and ITM, along with their partners, supported a treatment centre and provided free patient care during their research. The findings offer, for the first time, a detailed comparison of Clade Ib with other strains.

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The Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp has secured an additional €2 million from Belgium’s Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid to bolster research and containment of the mpox virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This funding comes as the new Clade Ib variant of mpox, recently identified in several African nations, was detected outside Africa for the first time in Sweden on August 15, 2024, heightening concerns of a potential global spread.

Researchers from the Congolese National Institute of Biomedical Research and Antwerp's Institute of Tropical Medicine identified a mutated mpox virus strain during an outbreak in Kamituga, a populous mining town in the DRC. This new variant, primarily transmitted through sexual contact, poses a risk of spreading to neighboring countries, prompting the World Health Organization to urge immediate action.