Enlarge / A 2003 photo of the arms and legs of a 4-year-old girl infected with mpox in Liberia. (credit: Getty | BSIP)

A deadly outbreak of mpox (previously called monkeypox) is spilling out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, raising alarm among global health experts.

The DRC has reported more than 22,000 suspected cases since the start of 2023, including 1,200 suspected deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A high proportion of the cases are in children younger than 15 years old.

On Wednesday, the CDC released a health advisory noting that although mpox is endemic to the DRC, the current outbreak is larger and more widespread than any outbreak the country has previously seen. The virus has also spilled over to several neighboring countries in recent months, including the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda. The World Health Organization reported that cases have also been detected in Kenya.