Vaccines to combat Mpox outbreak may delay for months

Vaccines to address the growing mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighbouring countries may not arrive any time soon. The World Health Organization (WHO) is considering declaring the outbreak an emergency, following the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declaration on Tuesday, August 13.

The next day, a WHO panel met to assess the global threat.

Despite hopes that these actions would spur global efforts, challenges such as limited vaccine supply, funding shortages, and other ongoing outbreaks remain obstacles.

Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, head of Congo’s Institute National pour la Recherche Biomedicale (INRB), stressed the need for an emergency declaration due to the rapid spread of the disease. He hopes this will lead to more funding and better vaccine access in Congo, but he acknowledged the difficulties in a country already overwhelmed by conflict and other diseases.

Africa CDC recently secured $10.4 million in emergency funding from the African Union and plans to obtain 3 million vaccine doses this year, though details are limited. In Congo, only 65,000 doses are expected soon, with vaccination campaigns unlikely before October.

So far this year, Africa has reported over 15,000 suspected mpox cases and 461 deaths, mostly among children in Congo, according to Africa CDC. The virus, usually mild, can be deadly, causing flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions.

A new virus variant has triggered outbreaks in eastern Congo refugee camps, spreading to Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Kenya for the first time. Ivory Coast and South Africa are also experiencing outbreaks linked to a different strain, which spread globally in 2022.

Two vaccines were used During that outbreak—Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos and LC16 by KM Biologics. Neither has been available in Congo or Africa, where mpox has been endemic for decades. Only LC16 is approved for use in children.

Congo's regulators approved these vaccines in June, but the government has not yet requested them from manufacturers or donors like the United States through Gavi.