The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other African nations are set to begin vaccinating against mpox within days, according to Africa’s top public health agency.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has been coordinating with affected countries to ensure the logistics and communication strategies are in place for the vaccine rollout. This follows vaccine pledges from the European Union, Bavarian Nordic, the United States, and Japan.
The World Health Organization recently declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years as a new variant spreads rapidly across Africa. Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya announced that vaccinations could commence by the end of next week, with doses arriving soon in the DRC and other countries.
“We are making sure that the supply chain management and logistics are ready to ensure the safe storage and administration of these vaccines,” Kaseya said during a briefing.
Kaseya emphasized that studies on the efficacy of various vaccines would continue across Africa during the vaccination campaign to determine the most suitable options for different contexts.
Over the past week, African states reported more than 1,400 additional mpox cases, bringing the total number of infections in the 12 affected African countries to nearly 19,000 in 2024. This marks a more than 100% increase compared to the same period last year. Despite the ongoing efforts, Kaseya cautioned that it is still too early to declare any improvement in the mpox outbreaks on the continent.
Mpox, a viral infection that causes pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms, is generally mild but can be fatal. Multiple strains of the virus are currently circulating in Africa.
Kaseya called for global solidarity, urging partners to avoid imposing travel bans on African nations, as was seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We need appropriate support in terms of medical countermeasures,” he said, highlighting the need for increased testing and vaccine access across African countries.
