First African country to roll out monkeypox vaccine

In an interview with reporters, a spokesperson for the Africa CDC confirmed that health workers had administered the first 300 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine in Rwanda's border area with the Democratic Republic of Congo - the country most affected by the epidemic, with nearly 22,000 cases and more than 700 deaths from January to August 2024.

Meanwhile, Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya said mass vaccination is expected to begin in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the first week of October.

A spokesperson for the Africa CDC said that currently only about 50% of suspected cases are being tested. The center aims to increase testing capacity to more than 80% in the coming time.

At a press conference the same day, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the agency was not dealing with just one outbreak but was actually responding to outbreaks in many different places caused by many strains. He particularly emphasized the current epidemic situation in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo as the number of cases continues to increase.

Last week, the WHO approved the MVA-BN vaccine for monkeypox vaccination, paving the way for the United Nations and other international agencies to purchase the vaccine. According to the WHO, people aged 18 and older can receive two doses of the MVA-BN vaccine, four weeks apart.

Given that most monkeypox cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been in children, WHO stresses that there is flexibility in administering the vaccine to infants, children and adolescents, as well as pregnant and immunocompromised individuals. WHO also recommends a single dose of the vaccine in outbreak settings where vaccine supplies are limited. However, more data are needed on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in such situations.

Available data suggest that a single dose of MVA-BN vaccine given before exposure to the pathogen is about 76% effective in preventing disease, while two doses are about 82% effective.

On the same day, Zambian Health Minister Elijah Muchima said that so far, there have been 37 suspected cases in the country, but none of them have tested positive for the monkeypox virus. However, the government has decided to strengthen surveillance areas, especially at border gates, to prevent the risk of the disease spreading in the country.

The Zambian Ministry of Health has trained more than 200 health workers across the country to diagnose and treat monkeypox cases, and has procured highly sensitive test kits and screening tools at the point of entry. The Ministry has also launched nationwide public health campaigns to educate the public about and prevent the disease.