2024-10-14 16:10:00
A doctor administers the mpox vaccine to a member of hospital staff during the launch of the vaccination campaign at the general hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on October 5, 2024. AUBIN MUKONI / AFP
As the pox epidemic continues to grow at an exponential rate in sixteen African countries, the first doses of vaccine have begun to be distributed in the most affected countries. This is a first on the African continent, and in particular in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the disease has been endemic for fifty years. After a large epidemic outside Africa in 2022 and no less than two public health emergencies of international concern – the highest alert level of the World Health Organization (WHO) –, decreed in 2022 and 2024 , the Congolese finally have access to the precious product. Two months after the WHO emergency declaration, “mpox remains a major public health problem in Africa”warns Jean Kaseya, director of the Africa CDC, the African public health agency.
The first doses arrived on the ground on October 5, notably in the east of the DRC, in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, crucibles of the epidemic which emerged over the past year. This new clade 1b variant then quickly spread to some neighboring countries. From Monday October 7, Rwanda also began vaccinating certain target populations, while Nigeria, where clade 2 is prevalent, should soon launch its own campaign.
The issue is paramount for the DRC, where a large majority of cases of mpox on the continent are recorded (85%). Since the start of 2024, 31,350 suspected cases have been identified in the country for nearly 1,000 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 3.2%. Only 6,169 cases could be confirmed by laboratory PCR tests (for 25 confirmed deaths), which shows a major problem of access to diagnostics. Concretely, only 40% of suspected cases are tested, which means that many infected people are not treated, increasing the risks of spread.
Read also | Mpox: the DRC will urgently approve two vaccines and a treatment to stem the epidemic
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The main antiviral known against mpox, tecovirimat, not having demonstrated conclusive results against the current epidemicvaccination remains the only effective treatment to stop the spread of the virus. This is why the arrival of the first vaccines was so awaited in the DRC. Some 265,000 doses have so far been received by the country’s health authorities, including 200,000 from the European Union, 50,000 from the United States and 15,000 through the Gavi organization, the main player in solidarity. international which supports low-income countries in the purchase of vaccines.
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