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Kinshasa – The first nearly 100,000 doses for a vaccination campaign against the spread of the disease Mpox have arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This was announced by Health Minister Roger Kamba and the African health authority CDC Africa.

In mid-August, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the highest alert level due to the Mpox outbreaks in Africa and the new, possibly more dangerous variant Ib. The number of cases is particularly high in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Since the beginning of the year, around 20,500 cases have been recorded in the central African country, of which a good 5,000 have been confirmed in the laboratory. According to CDC Africa, this represents around 90% of the confirmed Mpox cases on the continent today, and almost 99% of the deaths in this context were recorded in the DR Congo (635 from January 1 to September 5). Experts also assume that there is a high number of unreported cases of Mpox.

A large proportion of those affected in the DR Congo are children. According to CDC Africa, a similar picture can be seen in neighboring Burundi, where children under 15 years of age make up just over half of the confirmed cases and where the mutated clade Ib has also been identified. CDC Africa Director Jean Kaseya stressed that the outbreak could affect other countries if it is not brought under control.

“These vaccines are critical to protecting our healthcare workers and vulnerable populations, and to containing the spread of Mpox,” Kaseya said. He announced the delivery of an additional 100,900 doses on Saturday and today thanked the European Union for the donated vaccines.

Kamba also spoke of an important step in the fight against Mpox. The disease is spreading mainly in the western Equator Province and in the eastern Congolese province of South Kivu.

“The delivery of the vaccines is the first step in Team Europe’s global response to tackle the crisis,” said Laurent Muschel, head of the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness Authority. “We will continue to work hand in hand with our partners to ensure that vulnerable populations across the continent are protected.”

According to the figures presented by Kaseya today, the number of reported Mpox cases in the African member states has increased sharply since the beginning of the year. The case fatality rate (CFR) has continued to fall: according to a graph, from around 8% in January to around 1-2% in recent weeks. Kaseya explained this by saying that more infections are being detected early, there is more capacity to treat those affected and that the population has been better informed. © dpa/ggr/aerzteblatt.de