DR Congo to receive Japanese monkeypox vaccine next week

Since early December, Congo has recorded 143 deaths in Kwango province, with flu-like symptoms including high fever and severe headaches. Authorities have sent a medical team to the Panzi area to collect samples and conduct analysis to determine the cause of the disease.

According to initial test results from the WHO investigation, 10 of the 12 samples tested positive for malaria. Additional samples will be collected and tested to determine the exact cause. Dr. Abdi Mahamud, WHO's Director of Interim Alert and Response Coordination, said malaria is endemic in the region and the rainy season has increased respiratory diseases to an expected level. Kinshasa, for example, is experiencing a resurgence of influenza and Covid-19. Epidemiological data does not show a spike in cases or deaths. However, the high infant mortality rate points to many issues that need to be addressed in Panzi and other vulnerable areas.

In response to this situation, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said yesterday that the Democratic Republic of Congo will begin receiving three million doses of monkeypox vaccine from Japan from next week and can be used for children.

A Congolese health official injects a Congolese Red Cross worker with monkeypox vaccine. Photo: Reuters

Vaccinations to prevent the potentially deadly monkeypox epidemic are underway in Congo, the epicenter of the outbreak, but no shots have yet been given to children, who are particularly vulnerable to the disease. Japan pledged in September to donate the LC16m8 monkeypox vaccine from its national stockpile, which was originally developed by domestic company KM Biologics to prevent smallpox and is effective against monkeypox. But the donation has been delayed by regulatory hurdles. Receiving the vaccine would boost hopes of stopping the monkeypox epidemic, which the World Health Organization has declared a global public health emergency. A delegation from Japan will arrive in Congo later this week to train health workers unfamiliar with the method of administering the vaccine, Dieudonne Mwamba, head of Congo's National Institute of Public Health, said at the same news conference. The Africa CDC has asked Japan to provide additional monkeypox vaccines to other countries on the African continent affected by the disease./.

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