Panicked consultants apprehensive by ‘actually quick’ unfold of monkeypox virus
New shipments of monkeypox vaccines have experts hopeful they could stop the “fast” spread of the virus in a number of African countries.
A shipment of the first batch of monkeypox vaccines arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo last week, but millions more are required. In August, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared outbreaks in 12 African countries, branding it a global emergency.
It followed scientists detecting a new version of the disease in Congo that they think could be spreading more easily in May.
Dr Jean Kaseya, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) director general, said the outbreak is “really moving [fast]” according to The Guardian.
(Image: EUROPEAN UNION/AFP via Getty Ima)
Around 100,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine were donated by the EU and arrived last week with a further 100,000 expected today.
About 380,000 doses of mpox vaccines have been promised by Western partners such as the EU and the US, Dr Kaseya has said. But an estimated 3 million are needed to end outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Scientists have also pointed out that without a better understanding of how mpox is spreading in Africa, it may be difficult to know how best to use the shots.
But in late August, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a press briefing that mpox outbreaks in Afirca could be stopped in the next six months.
“With the governments’ leadership and close co-operation between partners, we believe we can stop these outbreaks in the next six months,” the WHO chief said.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Africa before the disease prompted the 2022 outbreak in more than 70 countries, Dr Dimie Ogoina, the chairman of Who’s mpox emergency committee told reporters last month.
Monkeypox can cause sore rashes which can begin on the face or genitals and then spread to other parts of the body. Before healing the rashes can scab over and be painful, while a person suffering from the virus can feel ill with a fever, chills, body aches and tiredness.
They may also experience horrible bleeding from the rectum, as well as swollen lymph nodes.
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