Mpox: Congo awaits vaccines from US, Japan as death toll reaches 570

Kinshasa/DR Congo: In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mpox cases and related deaths are increasing while the country is waiting for vaccines to arrive from the United States and Japan. The health minister of the central African nation, Samuel-Roger Kamba, said that they are talking about a continental emergency, Agence France-Presse reported.

Kamba said that the number of infections surged to 16,700 from 16,000 in a few days, along with deaths, as the toll reached 570 from 548 in the same period.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) urged the affected countries to increase vaccination programmes in order to resist deadly strains of mpox.

Last week, WHO declared the mpox surge in Africa a global health emergency as outbreaks were reported in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Also, a case with a new strain has been detected in Sweden.

AFP learned from a medical source that the US has promised 50,000 doses of vaccines while Japan has 3.5 million (only for children). A medical source under anonymity told AFP that DRC plans to vaccinate four million people, including 3.5 million children.

Kamba said that he hope the country will receive the promised doses of vaccine, which is the solution to their problem, by next week. He also urged his people to get vaccinated since their strategic vaccination plan is ready.

Pakistan reported a suspected new case of Monkeypox (mpox) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Monday. Now, the total number of cases in Pakistan has reached four. A 47-year-old resident of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), who recently returned to Pakistan from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, is the suspected case.