HQ Team
August 2, 2024: Mpox or monkeypox cases have seen a 160% surge in the African region this year compared to the same period in 2023, according to the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far this year, there have been an estimated 14,250 Mpox cases in Africa.
The increase in numbers is due to a lack of both vaccines and treatments for the virus.
Officials of Africa CDC said that Mpox has now been detected in 11 African countries this year, including Congo, which has seen the highest number of cases. More than 96% of all cases and deaths have been reported here. Nearly 70% of Congo cases have been detected in children under the age of 15, who also accounted for 85% of Mpox deaths.
“There is a real risk of explosion, given the huge population movements in and out,” Dr. Louis Massing, Doctors Without Borders’ medical director for Congo, said in a statement issued Wednesday. “We can only plead … for vaccines to arrive in the country and as quickly as possible so that we can protect the populations in the areas most affected.”
Rapid Spread
This year, new cases of Mpox have been reported in Burundi and Rwanda for the first time. Kenya and Central African Republic have also reported cases this week.
Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new and deadlier version of Mpox in a Congolese mining town. Analysis of the new virus among patients has attributed the genetic mutations to the rapid spread of the virus.
In a bid to curb the disease, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations announced it was starting a study in Congo and other African countries next month to see if giving people an Mpox shot after they have been exposed to the disease could help prevent severe illness and death.
Mpox
Mpox is caused by the monkeypox virus and is transmitted by close contact between individuals or with infected animals. It has been endemic in Central Africa and West Africa since the 1970s and spread rapidly around the world in 2022 and 2023. The recent spread is of a West African variant reported in more than 110 countries.
The epidemic is spreading in areas with a wide range of demographic and geographical characteristics and it is imperative that medical staff be trained on aspects of isolation, primary care, raising awareness and increased laboratory facilities.
Mpox vaccine situation
The Mpox vaccine situation in Africa is marked by a severe shortage and inequitable access. The manufacturing of vaccines, primarily by Bavarian Nordic, has not met the urgent needs of African countries
The German biotechnology company, BioNTech SE announced a $ 90 million program in partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to develop a vaccine for Mpox.
The Mpox vaccine program, labelled as BNT166 is part of BioNTech’s efforts to develop a prophylactic vaccine for a range of infectious diseases with a high medical need, according to a BioNTech statement. The vaccine is at Phase 1/2 clinical trial stage for its mRNA-based mpox vaccine candidate BNT166.
