MPox Outbreak: Death Toll In Congo Nears 600 As Africa Waits For Vaccines

As monkeypox cases increase in Africa, the death toll in the Democratic Republic of Congo has increased as well. As per the latest toll from health officials, the death toll in Congo, which was the worst-hit nation, is nearing 600.

As per Health Minister Samuel-Boger Kamba, the death toll due to the Mpox outbreak now stands at "A little more than 570 deaths". The number of total infections has also increased from 16,000 to 16,700.

"We are talking about a continental emergency," Kamba told reporters as the World Health Organisation (WHO) called on increasing vaccination programmes to counter the new monkeypox strain.

With 96 percent of mpox cases in Congo, the government has stated that it is working towards getting the vaccines as soon as possible.

As per Health Minister Kamba, DRC "plans to vaccinate four million people including 3.5 million children".

Africa Awaits Mpox Vaccines

Last week, the World Health Organisation declared the Mpox outbreak as a "public health emergency of international concern", which is the UN agency's highest alert category.

As it monitors the outbreak in Africa and the few cases across the globe, WHO called for urgent vaccines to be sent to Africa, especially Congo.

In Africa, as per the African CDC, MPox has spread to at least 13 countries in the continent, with Congo reporting a majority of the cases.

In DRC, Mpox cases have been reported in all 26 provinces in the country with a population of 100 million people.

With warnings issued across the globe, the UN health agency as called on countries to called on countries to "scale up efforts to thoroughly investigate cases and outbreaks of mpox disease" to understand its transmission and "prevent the spread to household members and communities."

WHO has also called for a greater "cross-border collaboration" to monitor and handle suspected mpox cases "without resorting to general travel and trade restrictions unnecessarily impacting local, regional or national economies".

As per the Health Ministry in Congo, the country is expecting to receive vaccinations by next week from the United States and Japan. Based on an AFP report, the United States has promised 50,000 vaccine doses for DRC, and Japan has agreed to send 3.5 million doses "only for children".