Congolese launches long-awaited mpox vaccination drive
Congolese authorities have begun vaccinating against mpox, rolling out 265,000 doses donated by the European Union and the U.S. in Goma, North Kivu province.
Congolese authorities have begun vaccination against mpox, rolling out 265,000 doses donated by the European Union and the U.S. in Goma, North Kivu province. The vaccination effort comes nearly two months after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a global emergency.
Hospitals and health workers in the region have been stretched thin, battling the new, possibly more infectious strain of the virus.
Congo accounts for over 80% of the continent’s mpox cases and nearly all reported deaths, with approximately 30,000 suspected cases and 859 deaths this year alone. All 26 provinces in the country have reported infections. The nation’s fragile healthcare system has been further strained by stigma surrounding the virus and a lack of diagnostic tools and basic medicines.
Health Minister Roger Kamba emphasized the importance of protecting at-risk populations and frontline workers, noting that the doses currently available are being administered to adults in those groups. “Strategies have been put in place by the services in order to vaccinate all targeted personnel,” said Muboyayi ChikayaI, the minister’s chief of staff, as the campaign launched.
Despite the significant challenges, there is hope on the horizon. At least 3 million additional doses, approved for use in children, are expected to arrive from Japan in the coming days. This is crucial, as most of Congo’s mpox infections and deaths have occurred among children under 15.
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Mpox, also known as monkeypox, has long been endemic in Africa, but the 2022 global outbreak brought new urgency. While the virus spread primarily among gay and bisexual men during the global surge, in Africa, it continues to spread through both sexual transmission and close contact among children, pregnant women, and other vulnerable groups, according to Dr. Dimie Ogoina, chair of WHO’s mpox emergency committee.
The situation in North Kivu is particularly dire, as the province is at high risk for a major outbreak. Displacement camps, where large populations live in close quarters due to the region’s ongoing armed conflict, pose a significant threat. “Promiscuity observed in the camps” could trigger a wider spread of the virus, warned Dr. Jean Bruno Kibunda, the WHO representative overseeing the vaccination effort in the area.
Doctors and health workers in Congo have welcomed the arrival of vaccines but continue to face severe shortages in supplies. In many hospitals, makeshift isolation wards use tents and mattresses to accommodate the constant stream of patients. “If everyone could be vaccinated, it would be even better to stop the spread of the disease,” said Dr. Musole Mulambamunva Robert, medical director of Kavumu Hospital in eastern Congo, expressing cautious optimism.
As the region grapples with both a public health crisis and long-standing armed conflict, the launch of the vaccination drive brings a glimmer of hope in a country struggling to contain one of the world’s most severe outbreaks of mpox.