Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced on Saturday that they had begun a vaccination campaign against M.P.O.X. mpox is a virus that can cause painful rashes and flu-like symptoms, and in some cases can be fatal.
The Central African country is the epicenter of the mpox epidemic, which has spread to 16 neighboring countries.
Since the start of the year, Africa has recorded 988 deaths out of more than 34,000 infections, 70% of them in children under five, according to the World Health Organization.
EU sends first batch of mpox vaccines to Congo
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What do we know about the vaccination drive?
Officials held a ceremony to mark the start of vaccinations at a hospital in the eastern city of Goma.
Inoculations were delayed for three days starting Wednesday because the country’s inadequate infrastructure made it difficult to deliver vaccines.
The first doses were given to medical staff, including Dr. Janine Muhavi.
“As a doctor, I’m on the front lines and I’m always dealing with sick people…I want to protect myself,” Muhabi told reporters at the ceremony.
The general population in the eastern part of the country, where the current outbreak began a year ago, will be encouraged to get vaccinated starting Monday.
The Ministry of Health had previously warned that the scope of the campaign would be limited due to limited resources.
“It’s not a mass vaccination campaign. The strategy is to vaccinate those most at risk,” Health Minister Roger Kamba told a news conference in the capital Kinshasa on Friday.
Currently, the only vaccines available are 265,000 doses donated by countries such as the United States and the European Union.
The country is waiting to receive millions more promised shots from France, Japan and the United States
Large tents have been set up to administer vaccines, especially to adults with pre-existing conditions.
Manufactured by Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic, the doses that have arrived so far are not intended for children.
Kamba said at least 3 million doses are expected to be approved for pediatric use by Japan in the coming days.
Congo, with a population of 99 million, accounts for more than 80% of all chickenpox cases and 99% of all chickenpox deaths reported in Africa this year.
US and Japan pledge to deliver millions more vaccines to Congo Image: Justin Makangara/REUTERS
What is npox?
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, was first discovered in Denmark in 1958 in monkeys kept for research.
It was first discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the Congo, and for many years it spread largely undetected in Africa.
Mpox usually causes fever, pain, and fatigue, as well as pus-filled lesions in the body. It can be fatal.
This virus became internationally famous in May 2022. A strain known as clade 2b has spread around the world, primarily affecting homosexual and bisexual men.
While vaccines quickly became widely available in Europe and the United States, African countries have struggled to obtain them.
The continent of 1.4 billion people is expected to administer just 5.9 million doses of the mpox vaccine by December.
The WHO recently announced that MPOX is being spread in Africa through sexual transmission and close contact among children, pregnant women, and other vulnerable populations.
Geneva-based health authorities in August declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern after a new variant was identified.
Meanwhile, the WHO announced on Friday that it had approved the use of the first diagnostic test for mpox, which uses swabs taken from human lesions.
mm/sms (AFP, AP, Reuters)
