ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) — The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said mpox vaccination could start “in the coming days” as the number of cases surges across Africa. Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, while addressing a special online media briefing Tuesday on the multi-country mpox outbreak in Africa, expressed concern over the rapid spread of the disease across the affected African countries.
He said the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) is working with international partners and AU members to start mpox vaccination soon. “We will start in a few days if we are sure that everything is in place. By the end of next week, vaccines will start to arrive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and other countries,” Kaseya told reporters.
He said the number of mpox cases in the affected countries has now surpassed 18,910, registering more than 1,400 new cases and 24 related deaths during the previous week alone. Africa CDC data show that between Jan. 1 and Aug.
13, 12 African countries reported 17,505 mpox cases and 541 deaths. On Aug. 13, the Africa CDC declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security, saying that the outbreak “has now crossed borders, affecting thousands across our continent.
” Kaseya called for concerted efforts to contain the virus, which has spread rapidly in the most-affected countries. “An alert is coming from Burundi, the DRC an.