After delays due to logistical difficulties, Congolese authorities have begun administering vaccinations against mpox to contain the outbreak.
The EU and US delivered 265,000 doses of the vaccine to DRC, which were administered in Goma city and North Kivu province, where health resources are under strain due to a surge in mpox cases.
The country has recorded around 30,000 infections, accounting for more than 80% of all infections and 99% of deaths reported on the continent this year. More than 850 deaths from the disease have been reported in the DRC this year.
Back in August, the WHO declared a spike in mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which had spread to multiple countries, a global health emergency.
Across the African continent, small numbers of cases have also been recorded in countries such as Sweden and Pakistan.
mpox is caused by a virus in the same family as smallpox and was first transmitted to humans from animals. It is transmitted from person to person through close contact with an infected person.
The current outbreak saw the spread of a new type of disease called clade 1b, which is more severe than clade 2 and has caused a public health emergency in 2022.
