DR Congo launches mpox vaccination operation
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the epicenter of an mpox epidemic, launched a vaccination campaign against the virus on Saturday in the eastern city of Goma. This launch was initially scheduled for last Wednesday but was delayed by three days due to logistical difficulties in delivering the vaccines across the country’s sprawling and infrastructure-poor regions.
The first vaccines were administered to hospital staff, with plans to target the general population starting Monday, particularly in the eastern part of the country where the current outbreak began a year ago. Dr. Jeannine Muhavi, one of the first recipients, highlighted the importance of protecting frontline healthcare workers.
Local health officials and NGO workers set up large tents to administer the vaccines, promoting the message: “mpox exists.” The DRC has received 265,000 vaccine doses, including donations from the United States and European Union. However, the country is still waiting for millions more promised doses from France, Japan, and the United States.
Since the start of the year, the DRC has recorded over 30,000 mpox cases and 988 deaths, with 70% of the fatalities among children under five. Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba stated that the vaccination strategy will not be a mass campaign but will focus on high-risk individuals, including those with existing health conditions and medical workers.
He acknowledged that with a population of 100 million people, the 265,000 doses will not suffice to solve the problem. Currently, the vaccines available are only intended for adults, and discussions are underway to secure additional supplies from Japan, which has a vaccine approved for both adults and children.
Japan has pledged to send three million doses, while President Joe Biden recently announced the U.S. plans to donate one million doses of the mpox vaccine to African nations and commit $500 million to aid in preventing and responding to the outbreak.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also recently approved the first diagnostic test for mpox, allowing for the detection of the virus from human lesions. The DRC is set to receive around 4,500 tests from the WHO, though no arrival date has been provided.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, was first discovered in 1958 in Denmark among monkeys kept for research and was first identified in humans in 1970 in what is now the DRC. The disease can cause painful rashes, fever, aches, and lethargy, and can be fatal in some cases. As of this year, the virus has been detected in 16 African countries, gaining international attention since May 2022 when a strain known as clade 2b began to spread globally, primarily affecting gay and bisexual men. The WHO declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in July 2022, marking the virus’s significance on the international stage.
