Mpox in Africa can be stopped in six months

The first vaccine doses against mpox are expected to arrive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo within the next few days. The hope is that the outbreak can be over within six months, according to WHO.

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Mpox in Africa can be stopped in six months
Photo: Moses Sawasawa/AP/TT

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The World Health Organization, WHO, estimates that approximately 230,000 vaccine doses can be sent "immediately" to, among other places, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they said on Friday.

More than 18,000 suspected cases of mpox have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo so far this year, and nearly 630 deaths.

The number of reported cases has risen rapidly over several weeks. Fortunately, with relatively few deaths in recent weeks, says WHO's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

In addition to the cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 258 cases have been confirmed in Burundi, four in Rwanda, four in Uganda, two in Kenya, and one each in Sweden and Thailand.

We believe we can stop the outbreaks within the next six months. But what this region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo needs more than anything else is a political solution to the long-standing uncertainty in the country.

So far, Africa has only received a fraction of the 10 million vaccine doses needed to slow the spread of the virus.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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