“Almost 20% of our patients are sex workers” or those in contact with them, says Dr. Dally Muamba Kambaji with the international medical NGO ALIMA in the mining town of Kamituga, the epicentre of the growing mpox outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The nature of the work is making it harder to trace and treat the disease. “No one wanted to say she was ill, so if I'm infected, I hide so others don't know, and vice-versa,” says Alice, a sex worker. “This category is quite vulnerable and very exposed, and it's important that they be vaccinated,” says Dr. Kambaji IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES