Mpox Vaccinations Planned in Mega-City as Africa Cases Mount
(Bloomberg) -- Mpox vaccinations will be administered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital Kinshasa in a bid to stop the virus from spreading rapidly in the tightly-packed city of 17 million and around the world through its air links.
Most Read from Bloomberg
The adjustment to a planned immunization program that was going to focus mainly on the epicenter of the outbreak in the east of the country 900 miles away comes amid concern the viral disease is spreading rapidly in Africa, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Surveillance for the disease in the city will also be stepped up.
The increase of mpox in Kinshasa, where scientists say a more rapidly spreading sub-variant of the disease known as clade Ib has been found, “is something that worries us very much,” Ngashi Ngongo, chief of staff at the Africa CDC, said at a briefing on Thursday. “The crowding is real and in addition there is the opening of Kinshasa to other countries and the world.”
While mpox has been endemic to central and west Africa for decades, this year’s outbreak has raised concerns because of the apparent spread of clade Ib though all types of sexual and close physical contact, leading to the infection and death of hundreds of children.
The disease appears to be spreading rapidly on the continent and there are suspected cases in at least 15 countries, Jean Kaseya, the director-general of Africa CDC, said. They can’t all be confirmed due to inadequate testing. Single cases of clade Ib have also been found in Sweden, Thailand and India.
Reported cases on the continent of both the original clade I and the newer sub-variant have exceeded 32,000 this year and 840 people have died, Kaseya said, adding that the true figures are likely to be much higher.
“It’s just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “No one can say this is the reality we are facing in Africa.”
The response to the disease, which was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization last month, is gathering pace in Africa.
Earlier this week African heads of state set up an mpox fund to which $314 million has been pledged, Kaseya said. In addition the US has said it will provide $500 million and 1 million vaccine doses. More detail about the aid will be given in coming days, he said.
Overall the continent now has access to 4.3 million vaccine doses and in addition to Congo, where the pace of infections picked up last week, vaccines will be distributed to Rwanda, South Africa, the Central African Republic, Burundi and Cameroon.
Carefully targeted groups will receive vaccines, including some HIV positive people in South Africa, Ngongo said.
“This plan is flexible, the outbreak is growing,” Kaseya said.
Sign up here for the twice-weekly Next Africa newsletter
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
How Harris’ Campaign Finally Made Biden’s Meme Strategy Work
This Camera Went Viral Two Years Ago. You Still Can’t Buy One
Palantir’s CEO and Wall Street Annoy Each Other Straight to the Bank
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
