African health officials hopeful mpox shots will start within days as WHO says outbreak is ‘not the new COVID’

African nations could begin vaccinations against mpox within days, according to the continent’s top public health agency, as a World Health Organization official said the spread of a deadlier strain of the virus could be controlled and “was not the new COVID.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is at the epicenter of an mpox outbreak declared a global health emergency last week by WHO, with the deadlier clade Ib strain that is spreading quickly in the country detected in at least four other African nations.

“We didn’t start vaccinations yet. We’ll start in a few days if we are sure that everything is in place. End of next week, vaccines will start to arrive in DRC and other countries,” Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya told a briefing on Tuesday.

The viral disease, formerly known as monkeypox, can spread easily between people and from infected animals through close contact such as touching, kissing or sex, as well as through contaminated materials like sheets, clothing and needles, according to WHO. Symptoms include a fever, a painful rash, headache, muscle and back pain, low energy and enlarged lymph nodes.

Around 1,400 mpox infections have been reported across Africa over the past week, bringing the total number of cases on the continent to nearly 19,000 since the start of the year – up more than 100% on the same period last year, according to the Africa CDC. The latest outbreak has killed more than 500 people, the agency’s latest available data shows.

That’s prompted a scramble for vaccines as health officials in Africa work with overseas partners to meet a massive shortfall of doses.

“We need to have vaccines,” Kaseya told NPR last week. “Today, we are just talking about almost 200,000 doses (becoming) available. We need at least 10 million doses. The vaccine is so expensive — we can put it around $100 per dose. There are not so many countries in Africa that can afford the cost of this vaccine.”

The European Union and Danish vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic have so far pledged support, the European Commission said last week. Japan and the United States have also offered doses, Reuters reported, citing the DRC’s health minister.

WHO’s declaration of a global health emergency is the second time in two years that the United Nations health agency has raised the alarm over the spread of mpox, which for decades had been found largely in central and western Africa.

Mpox is characterized by two genetic clades, I and II. A clade is a broad grouping of viruses that has evolved over decades that has distinct genetic and clinical differences.

Clade II was responsible for a global outbreak that was also declared to be a global health emergency from July 2022 to May 2023. But the new outbreak is driven by clade I, which causes more severe disease. The subtype that’s responsible for most of the ongoing spread, clade Ib, is relatively new.

Last week, the first clade lb case outside Africa was confirmed in Sweden in a patient who had recently traveled to the continent.

But with nations worldwide on high alert for the virus, a WHO official on Tuesday played down fears of a new pandemic as he called for a coordinated response to the outbreak.

“Mpox is not the new COVID,” WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge told a press briefing.

While more research is needed on the clade Ib strain, its spread can be controlled, he said.

“We know how to control mpox. And, in the European region, the steps needed to eliminate its transmission altogether,” Kluge said.

“The need for a coordinated response is now greatest in the African region,” he said. “We can, and must, tackle mpox together – across regions and continents.”

Kluge’s comments came as Argentina placed a cargo ship in quarantine after a crew member showed symptoms of mpox. Meanwhile, the Philippines and Thailand reported cases of mpox in travelers who had been to Africa.