The World Health Organization (WHO) has prequalified vaccine for Mpox.
The announcement came on the heels of the arrival of the first MVA-BN vaccines to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it is causing havoc.
DRC has recorded nearly 22,000 cases and 716 deaths linked to the virus since January.
So far, about 200,000 vaccine doses have been delivered to the DRC by the European Union, along with about 50,000 from the United States.
The WHO On its X handle on Friday, said the development is expected to speed up access to the jabs to fight an epidemic raging in Africa.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO chief in a statement said that this first prequalification of a vaccine against Mpox is an important step in the fight against the disease, both in the context of the current outbreaks in Africa, and in future.
“We now need urgent scale up in procurement, donations and rollout to ensure equitable access to vaccines where they are needed most… to prevent infections, stop transmission and save lives.”
WHO’s prequalification listing is used to evaluate the quality, safety and efficacy of medical products like vaccines, paving the way for the United Nations and other international agencies to procure them.
The list is also used by lower-income countries without the means to carry out their evaluations to fast-track procurement approvals.
“The WHO prequalification of the MVA-BN vaccine will help accelerate ongoing procurement of the mpox vaccines by governments and international agencies… on the frontlines of the ongoing emergency in Africa and beyond,” said Yukiko Nakatani, WHO’s assistant chief in charge of access to medicines and health products.
The WHO declared an international emergency over mpox last month, concerned by the surge in cases of the new Clade 1b strain in the DRC that spread to nearby countries.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact. It causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions, and can in some cases be deadly.
Concerned about this, Infectious disease experts under the aegis the Nigerian Infectious Diseases Society, NIDS, had given a template on how Nigeria should respond to the Mpox threat in Nigeria, calling for significant financial investments in Mpox surveillance and response activities at all levels.
NIDS also raised concerns over the upsurge and expansion of both clade I and II-related Mpox outbreaks in Africa. They also emphasized the need for concurrent investments in other endemic and epidemic diseases to prevent their neglect during the Mpox public health response.
In a press statement signed by the President of the Society, Prof Dimie Ogoina, tagged: “Nigerian Infectious Diseases Society (NIDS) Statement on the Current Mpox Outbreak in Nigeria and Africa: Observations, Concerns, and Recommendations”, NIDS highlighted the urgent need for enhanced and sustainable One Health Mpox surveillance in Nigeria, targeting animal exposures, environmental risk factors, and behavioral factors.
The experts also called for intensified surveillance at points of entry to prevent the importation of new Mpox strains into the country.
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