Browsing: Mpox

• Health Minister Roger Kamba announced last week that the DRC expects to receive the first shipment of vaccine doses from the US within days.
• DRC is the hardest hit country by the epidemic globally reporting over 1000 new cases in a week.
• The country currently faces a huge shortfall in vaccine supplies, with an estimated 3 million doses required to curb the epidemic.

The US is expected to deliver critical Mpox vaccines to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this week, marking a turning point in Kinshasa’s fight against the fast-spreading viral infection. This intervention comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Mpox outbreaks in Africa a global emergency, highlighting the urgent need for international support to combat the virus.

The DRC, which has been hardest hit by the epidemic reporting over 1000 new cases in a week, is poised to receive a much-needed boost in its battle against …

• DRC is grappling with a severe outbreak of Mpox, reporting over 1,000 new cases in just one week.
• This alarming surge has prompted health authorities in Africa to urgently request vaccines to combat the viral infection.
• Kenya, the DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda are set to benefit from a donation of 50,000 doses of mpox vaccine as part of a global effort to check spread.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is grappling with a severe Mpox outbreak, reporting over 1,000 new cases in just one week. This alarming surge has prompted health authorities in Africa to urgently request vaccines to combat what is increasingly seen as a growing threat on the continent. As the Mpox outbreak escalates, the need for international support has become more critical than ever.

The growing threat of Mpox in Africa

Mpox, a viral disease belonging to the same family as smallpox, is spreading rapidly …

• Suspected mpox cases across the continent have surged past 17,000—a sharp increase from 7,146 cases in 2022 and 14,957 cases in 2023.
• The disease has rapidly spread from the epicentre, DRC to at least 13 African countries, including nations previously unaffected such as Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.
• Already, Africa CDC has entered into an alliance to provide over 215,000 doses of the MVA-BN® vaccine—the only Mpox vaccine approved by the FDA and EMA.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has declared the ongoing Mpox outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS).

This declaration is the first of its kind since the agency’s establishment in 2017, marking a critical moment in Africa’s public health scene even as authorities step up measures to tackle an outbreak of this deadly disease.

Under the authority granted by Article 3, Paragraph F of the Africa CDC Statutes, …