Africa is grappling with a vaccine deficit of 9.8 million doses as monkeypox, for the first time, spreads outside the usual regions known as the disease hotbed.
Monkeypox was detected in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda for the first time, according to Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
He stated that only 200,000 doses of the mpox vaccine are available, in a post on X.
However, there is a need for 10 million doses to effectively control the outbreak, Kaseya wrote, calling for international solidarity to support global vaccination efforts.
There are currently two vaccines in use against the disease, both of which have been recommended for use by the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday released a situation report showing that the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported 96 percent of the confirmed mpox cases within the African region as of June.
It noted that all cases identified in the new regions were linked to the expanding outbreak in East and Central Africa and all cases sequenced to date from these countries are clade I.
Separately, Côte d’Ivoire is experiencing an outbreak of mpox linked to clade II MPXV strain and South Africa has reported two more confirmed cases.
“With limited access to testing in rural areas, 24 percent of clinically compatible (reported as suspected) cases in the country have been tested in 2024, with the positivity of around 65 percent at the national level. The confirmed case counts are, therefore, underestimates of the true burden,” WHO states.
WHO has requested that manufacturers of mpox vaccines submit an expression of interest and data for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) to ensure vaccine safety, effectiveness, assured quality, and suitability for the target populations.
This follows the kick-off of an emergency use authorisation process.
Read also: Malaria kills 194,000 Nigerians as vaccine rollout faces $250m funding deficit
Granting of an EUL is expected to accelerate vaccine access, particularly for those lower-income countries that have not yet issued their national regulatory approval.
The EUL also enables partners, including Gavi and UNICEF to procure vaccines for distribution.
In June 2024, a total of 934 new laboratory-confirmed cases of mpox and four deaths were reported from 26 countries, illustrating the continuing transmission of mpox across the world, WHO says.
The most affected regions, based on the number of laboratory-confirmed cases, were the African region with 567 cases, the Americas with 175 cases, Europe with 100 cases, the Western Pacific with 81 cases, and South-East Asia (11 cases).
Mpox
The Eastern Mediterranean region did not report cases in June 2024.
Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus.
The disease can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with someone infectious, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals.
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