WHO sends almost a million Mpox vaccines to Africa

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday said almost a million doses of mpox vaccines have been allocated to nine countries in Africa.

This follows the establishment last month of an Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) to support the equitable and timely access to mpox vaccines in Africa.

“So far, more than 50,000 people have been vaccinated against mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, thanks to donations from the United States and the European Commission,” said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The announcement comes as the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said mpox cases were showing a 500 per cent increase from last year, now impacting 19 countries.

The WHO declared mpox a global health emergency in mid-August, after a new strain, clade 1b, began spreading from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries.

Ghebreyesus said this week, the allocation of some 900,000 doses of vaccine was based on public health need, especially those with significant transmission of the new variant.

The Director-General said this was the “the first allocation of almost six million vaccine doses that we expect to be available by the end of 2024”.

“This is an important step towards bringing the mpox outbreaks under control, as part of WHO and the Africa CDC’s shared strategic response plan,” he said.

However, he said it was important to note that vaccination is only one part of the plan “alongside case finding, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, clinical care, risk communication, and testing”.

Mpox

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that’s been affecting Africa, particularly in central and western regions.

It’s caused by the monkeypox virus and can spread through close contact with infected animals or people, as well as contaminated materials.

*Affected Countries
Several African countries have reported mpox cases, including Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Liberia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sudan, and South Africa.

More recently, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda have also reported their first mpox cases, mainly linked to travel to eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

*Transmission and Symptoms
Mpox transmission occurs through direct contact with infected blood, bodily fluids, or lesions, as well as respiratory droplets.

Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle ache, chills, exhaustion, and swollen lymph nodes, followed by a rash that lasts 2-4 weeks.

*Prevention and Control
To prevent the spread of mpox, the Africa CDC recommends vaccination, particularly for high-risk populations like healthcare workers, immunocompromised individuals, and sex workers.

Two vaccines are available: JYNNEOS and ACAM2000, with JYNNEOS being the preferred vaccine for the current outbreak.

*Current Situation
As of August 2024, the WHO Director-General declared the mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other African countries a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

The situation is evolving, with new cases and affected countries emerging.

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