Nigeria is set to begin the immediate rollout of 5,000 doses of mpox vaccines, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) expecting its first shipment of 65,000 doses soon.
This move is part of Africa’s efforts to control the multi-country outbreak of the disease.
The vaccine, which is administered in two doses, will be given to people at high-risk first, including healthcare workers and those living in areas with high infection rates. This was announced by Nigeria’s National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.
According to WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, the delivery of 10,000 doses to Nigeria by USAID this week demonstrates international solidarity in the face of global public health emergencies.
Africa Health Report (AHR) had earlier reported that Nigeria became the first African country to receive the vaccine after confirming 40 cases of the disease, which has symptoms such as fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a rash leading to blisters.
On Tuesday, the government of the United States of America donated 10,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine to Nigeria.
Jynneos is a vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of smallpox and mpox in adults aged 18 years and older who are at risk of mpox infection.
Mpox is a rare viral zoonotic infectious disease (i.e. an infection transmitted from animals to humans) that occurs sporadically, primarily in remote villages of Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests. It is caused by the Mpox virus, which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus in the family Poxviridae.
On August 13, 2024, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared Mpox a public health emergency of continental security, acting under its mandate to address significant public health threats.
Data obtained from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Nigeria had recorded a total of 48 confirmed cases of Mpox out of 868 suspected cases across 35 local government areas in 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The DRC, the country worst affected by the outbreak, is expected to receive 65,000 doses of the vaccine on September 1. This was announced by Jean Kaseya, director-general of the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
The JYNNEOS vaccine, made by Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic, is considered one of the surest ways of stopping the mpox epidemic, alongside epidemiological surveillance and screening. It has been used in the US and Europe to stem an outbreak of mpox in 2022.
“It has been given to millions of Americans and Europeans, which has made it possible to stop [that] epidemic,” Kesaleya told the press conference.
In addition to vaccine rollout, Africa CDC will be sending 72 epidemiologists to affected areas in September to collect more data on case numbers. This is due to problems with the reliability of current data.
The goal is to provide quality data that will enable good decision-making to combat the outbreak. With the support of the epidemiologists, Africa CDC expects to provide quality data in the coming weeks.
“These epidemiologists, in addition to the support they will be giving to the teams in the field, will also be focusing on the quality of the data, so that we can have data that will enable us to make good decisions,” he said.
“In the coming weeks, we will begin to provide what we believe to be quality data thanks to this support.”
