The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is set to receive its first shipment of mpox vaccines on Thursday, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). Jean Kaseya, the head of the Africa CDC, confirmed that over 99,000 doses are expected to arrive in the country.
The DRC, with a population of approximately 100 million, is currently at the epicentre of an mpox outbreak, which has seen a troubling rise in both cases and fatalities. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports over 17,500 cases and 629 deaths in the country since the beginning of the year.
The WHO declared an international emergency concerning mpox on August 14, following the outbreak of a new Clade 1b strain in the DRC, which has spread to neighbouring countries.
As of August 27, mpox has been reported in 13 African countries, including Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville, and the Central African Republic, according to Africa CDC figures. The virus has also been detected outside Africa in Sweden, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
Originally identified as monkeypox, the virus was first discovered in monkeys in Denmark in 1958 and was later identified in humans in 1970 in what is now the DRC.
Mpox is transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals and can also spread between humans through close physical contact. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and large boil-like skin lesions.