Last week the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that an outbreak of mpox, a viral infection that spreads through close contact, represents a global health emergency for the second time in two years.  An outbreak of mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo has spread to neighbouring countries and more than 1,400 additional mpox cases have been detected over the past week.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other African countries could start vaccinating against mpox within days, Africa’s top public health agency said on Tuesday.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has been working with countries experiencing mpox outbreaks on logistics and communication strategies to roll out vaccine doses that are due to arrive following pledges by the European Union, vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic, the United States and Japan.

The World Health Organization last week declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years as a new variant of the disease spread rapidly in Africa.

“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.