Burundi is now seeing a surge in mpox cases.
"I am worried about the numbers. If they keep increasing, there is no capacity for us to handle that.”
A lot of effort is made to isolate those infected from the rest of the hospital’s population. There is red tape everywhere, and visitors, who are required to wear protective equipment, are physically distanced from those infected.
Mercy Juma / BBCMedical officials are worried about limited resources. There is only one laboratory in the country where blood samples can be tested for the virus, there are insufficient testing kits and no vaccines.
Maintaining hygienic conditions across Bujumbura is also hard as access to basic resources like water is limited in the city. There is a shortage of running water and people can be seen queuing up at public taps.
Dr Liliane Nkengurutse, national director for the Centre for Public Health Emergency Operations, says she is really concerned about the coming days.
“This is a real challenge. The fact that diagnosis is only done in one place delays detecting new cases.
“Health centres are calling the laboratory saying they have suspected cases, but it takes time for teams from the lab to deploy to where the suspected cases are to take samples.
“And it takes much more time to release the test results. We need about $14m (£10.7m) to be able to at least take our response to the next level,” she says.
Despite talk of vaccines reaching DR Congo as early as next week, there are no reports of a similar move for Burundi.
Mercy Juma / BBCPublic awareness about mpox is limited.
Bujumbura is just 20 minutes from the border with DR Congo and is a hub for cross-border travel and trade. But there is no sense of the possible risks of an outbreak.
The city is abuzz with activity. People are still buying and selling goods as usual. Handshakes, hugs and very close contact are the norm. There are long queues at the bus stations, with people scrambling to get onto already crammed public service vehicles.
“Many people do not understand the gravity of this issue. Even where there have been cases, people still just mingle,” Dr Nkengurutse says.
The BBC spoke to several people in Bujumbura and the majority did not know what mpox was. And those that did were not aware that it was spreading in their country.
“I have heard about this disease, but I have never seen someone who suffers from it. I have only seen it on social media,” one person said.
“I know it affects babies and young people. I am scared of it, but that does not mean I will just stay at home. I have to work. My family has to eat,” said another.
Health workers know that persuading people to take more care may be hard among a sceptical population that is facing a host of economic challenges.
But they will continue to treat patients, make sure they get better and try and trace those that they have been in contact with in efforts to contain the spread of the virus.
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