KINSHASA: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) on Tuesday received a crucial delivery of 50,000 mpox vaccine doses from the United States, bolstering efforts to combat a severe outbreak of the disease in the country.
This shipment adds to the 200,000 doses previously donated by the European Union, as well as an additional 15,000 doses provided by the Gavi Vaccine Alliance.
DR Congo, currently the epicenter of the mpox outbreak, has reported over 21,500 cases and more than 700 deaths, according to the public health institute managing the epidemic. The US ambassador to the DR Congo, Lucy Tamlyn, confirmed the arrival of the vaccine doses in a post on X, stating, “The donation of 50,000 vaccines against mpox coming from the United States arrived today in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
The vaccines are manufactured by Bavarian Nordic, a Danish laboratory. This vaccine is the only one approved in Europe and the United States and is intended for use in adults. Bavarian Nordic has recently sought an extension of this approval to include children aged 12 to 17, according to the company’s statement.
Japan has authorized another mpox vaccine for both adults and children, and discussions are underway with Japan regarding a potential supply for the DRC.
The DRC’s struggle with mpox is particularly dire, with approximately 62 percent of the cases occurring in children, who also represent four out of five deaths, as reported by the Africa Centres for Disease Control (CDC).
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an international public health emergency over mpox on August 14, following a surge in cases of the new Clade 1b strain in the DRC, which has also spread to neighboring countries.
The mpox virus was first identified in 1958 in monkeys in Denmark and was later discovered in humans in 1970 in what is now the DRC.
Mpox is caused by a virus transmitted from infected animals to humans and can also spread through close physical contact between people. The disease is characterized by fever, muscular aches, and large boil-like skin lesions.
