Democratic Republic of Congo begins vaccination campaign against mpox virus
A medical staff receives a vaccine for smallpox and mpox, made by Danish drugmaker Bavarian Nordic, in a symbolic start of the mpox vaccination campaign at Goma General Hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo: EFE/EPA/MOISE KASEREKA
October 5, 2024 Hour: 1:37 pm
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the focus of the current outbreak of mpox, began this Saturday the vaccination campaign against the disease in the province of North Kivu, in the northeast of the country.
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The Congolese Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare officially launched the campaign at a single event in the city of Goma, capital of North Kivu, an area affected by the virus, by the conflict in eastern DRC fueled by more than a hundred rebel groups.
According to Dr Romain Muboyayi, Director of the Ministry of Public Health’s Cabinet, “since the beginning of the year a total of 30,596 suspected cases and 5,602 confirmed cases have been reported in the country”.
The Health official to a Foreign press agency the main objective of the campaign launched this Saturday is to reduce mortality associated with the disease, and adults will be given two doses of MVA-BV vaccine from the Danish Bavarian Nordic, while the under 18s will receive a puncture from the Japanese LC16.
According to the World Health Organization office in Africa, the first phase will extend to the 11 most affected health zones in the provinces of North and South Kivu (east), Tshopo and Sankuru (centre), and Ubangi and Ecuador (west).
At a press conference on Friday, the Congolese Minister of Public Health, Roger Kamba, announced that the campaign would focus on adults, and specifically on health professionals, people in direct contact with the sick and those suffering from chronic diseases.
The DRC has received 265,000 doses of vaccines donated by the European Union (EU) and the United States, and is also expecting to receive more from the UK, Japan and other international actors, although Kamba warns that “The needs are much greater.”
Autor: ACJ
Fuente: EFE
