Africa faces 9.8m vaccine deficit as mpox spreads

CDC declares mpox public health emergency
The Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has declared mpox a “public health emergency of continental security.”

Mpox is transmitted through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most cases are mild, but it can kill. Over 13,700 cases and 450 deaths from a new variant, known as Clade Ib, have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the beginning of the year.

The virus has also spread to other African countries, including Burundi, Kenya and Rwanda. The new variant spreads more easily through routine close contact, as seems to be the case among children.

The Director-General of the Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, declared the health emergency during an online briefing on Tuesday.

“With a heavy heart but with an unyielding commitment to our people, to our African citizens, we declare mpox as a public health emergency of continental security,” Kaseya said.

“Mpox has now crossed borders, affecting thousands across our continent, families have been torn apart and the pain and suffering have touched every corner of our continent.”

Meanwhile, 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.

According to Kaseya, only 200,000 doses of the mpox vaccine are available. However, there is a need for 10 million doses to effectively control the outbreak, Kaseya stated, 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 per cent 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 per cent of clinically compatible (reported as suspected) cases in the country have been tested in 2024, with the positivity of around 65 per cent at the national level. The confirmed case counts are, therefore, underestimates of the true burden,” WHO stated.

Available data from the Africa CDC showed that as of August 4, 2024, there had been 38,465 cases of mpox and 1,456 deaths in Africa since January 2022. In July 2022. The WHO already declared mpox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

According to WHO data, a total of 111 countries and regions reported over 87,000 cases, including 140 fatalities.