The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is set to receive three million doses of mpox vaccine from Japan next week, marking a significant milestone in the fight against the potentially deadly infection.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced the development on Thursday, highlighting that the vaccines can be administered to children, who are particularly vulnerable to the disease.
Currently, vaccinations are underway in the DRC, the epicenter of the outbreak. However, children have been excluded due to the lack of suitable doses. Over 44% of the 10,533 confirmed mpox cases in the country are among children under the age of 15, according to the latest data from Africa CDC.
The Japanese government pledged in September to donate vaccines from its LC16m8 national stockpile, initially developed by KM Biologics for smallpox but proven effective against mpox.
However, legal challenges delayed the delivery.
“The good news we got from Japan is that next week, we are getting the Japanese vaccine in DRC that will allow the vaccination of children,” said Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC, during a press briefing.
The vaccine, which is administered using a bifurcated needle through 15 pricks to the skin, will be used on children aged zero to five.
To prepare for its rollout, a Japanese delegation will visit the DRC this weekend to train health workers unfamiliar with this method, explained Dieudonne Mwamba, head of Congo’s National Institute for Public Health.
The doses’ arrival brings hope of curbing the outbreak, which the World Health Organization has declared a global public health emergency.
Africa CDC has also begun discussions with Japan to secure additional doses for other African nations, signaling a broader continental effort to combat the disease.
“We are negotiating with them, and we’ll see what the outcome will be, but they were open to that,” Kaseya said.
