Madagascar mpox tops 3,000; DRC Ebola surges

Madagascar’s mpox outbreak has moved from a single port-city flare-up to a wider coastal epidemic, with reported infections now above 3,000 and health officials and outside experts warning the real toll may be higher. Angola is responding on a neighboring front: Cabinda province has widened vaccination plans in border areas next to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where officials say cross-border risk is a central concern. (travelvax.com.au) At the same time, the DRC’s Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak is growing faster than containment efforts, even as trials for vaccines, treatments and preventive medicines began unusually quickly. (cidrap.umn.edu) (gdeltcloud.com) ### How large is the Madagascar outbreak now? Madagascar has reported 3,022 mpox cases and 20 deaths, according to figures cited in reporting published on August 5. The outbreak began around Toamasina, the island’s main eastern port, and then spread to other busy coastal centers, including Taolagnaro, with those two areas accounting for more than half of reported infections. (travelvax.com.au) (gdeltcloud.com) Medical Brief reported that specialists fear official counts may understate total infections. That caution reflects a familiar problem in fast-moving outbreaks: confirmed cases often lag behind transmission when testing, reporting and access to care are uneven. (cidrap.umn.edu) That inference is based on the expert concerns described in the report. (travelvax.com.au) ### Why does Cabinda matter in this mpox story? Cabinda is Angola’s exclave north of the Congo River, and its border with the DRC has made it a focus of Angola’s latest response. Rúbem Buco, Cabinda’s provincial health secretary, said the province would carry out an expanded vaccination campaign with special attention to border zones adjoining the DRC. (travelvax.com.au) Cabinda authorities have reported 109 confirmed mpox cases and no deaths, according to local media summaries of official statements. (medicalbrief.co.za) Reporting tied to the vaccination push said more than 30,000 doses from Angola’s Health Ministry were expected in the province in the coming days. ### Are newer mpox vaccines close to use? Infection Control Today reported on August 5 that a next-generation mpox vaccine candidate, TNX-801, remains at the preclinical stage. (allafrica.com) The outlet said animal-model findings pointed to single-dose protection, neutralizing antibody responses and durability lasting at least 14 months after vaccination. (observador.pt) Those results do not change the near-term supply picture for Africa’s current outbreaks. The candidate discussed in that report has not yet moved into routine outbreak deployment, meaning current responses still depend on existing tools, case detection and targeted vaccination campaigns. (gdeltcloud.com) That conclusion is an inference from the report’s description of the product as preclinical. (infectioncontroltoday.com) ### What is happening with Ebola in the DRC? The DRC’s Ebola outbreak is now being described as the fastest-growing on record, according to CIDRAP and other recent reporting citing the World Health Organization. (infectioncontroltoday.com) WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said efforts to contain the outbreak must be “massively” scaled up, according to Reuters reporting carried by Yahoo. (infectioncontroltoday.com) Reuters reported on August 4 that testing of experimental treatments, preventive medicines and vaccines for the Bundibugyo strain was moving rapidly. CIDRAP said those trials started more quickly than in earlier Ebola emergencies, but transmission is still outpacing the response. (infectioncontroltoday.com) ### What should readers watch next? (cidrap.umn.edu) In the next several days, Angola’s Cabinda campaign is expected to receive additional vaccine doses and concentrate work in border communities, according to provincial and related reporting. In the DRC, WHO-backed trials of Bundibugyo Ebola countermeasures are continuing as officials track rising case counts. (yahoo.com) Madagascar’s reported mpox total will also be a key marker, because the last widely cited count already stood above 3,000 as of early August 2026. (msn.com) (travelvax.com.au) (allafrica.com) (cidrap.umn.edu)