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The continent of 1.3 billion people has yet to receive a single dose of monkeypox vaccine, according to Africa’s public health agency, but “very high-level discussions” are underway with at least two partners.
Ahmed Ogwell, deputy director of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told journalists on Thursday he could not provide details, but said the partners were “mainly multilateral organizations and non-African governments.” There are no discussions with the private sector as all available doses have already been purchased by countries, he said.
But Ogwell said clinical trials of the vaccine Jynneos are underway in Congo, which have received emergency use authorization. Its availability is limited. The Africa CDC did not immediately respond to questions about details of the trial.
The African continent has reported more deaths from monkeypox this year than anywhere else in the world. Since May, nearly 90 countries have reported more than 31,000 cases of him.
Monkeypox in America: Who is at risk and why?
At least 2,947 monkeypox cases, including 104 deaths, have been reported in 11 African countries this year, but most of the reported cases are suspected cases, and the continent is also undergoing thorough testing. There are insufficient diagnostic resources to do so, said the African CDC director.
Shortages of vaccine doses and diagnostics are echoes of the challenges 54 African countries faced in the months ahead during the COVID-19 pandemic. as wealthier countries elsewhere competed to secure supplies.
As Secretary of State Anthony Brinken finalizes a trip to three African countries, the director of the African Affairs Department said, clarifying Washington’s new strategy for engaging with sub-Saharan African countries as “equal partners.” Earlier this week, Blinken was in the Congo. This he is the largest of the 136 new monkeypox cases reported across Africa in a week, which occurred in the Congo.
The World Health Organization classified the spread of the once-rare monkeypox epidemic as a global emergency in July. The United States declared a national emergency last week.
What to do if you have monkeypox: symptoms, vaccinations, treatment
Outside of Africa, 98% of cases are men who have sex with men. With a limited global supply of the vaccine, officials are scrambling to stop monkeypox before it spreads.
The spread of monkeypox usually requires skin-to-skin or skin-to-mouth contact with an infected patient’s lesions. You can also become infected by coming into contact with the clothing or bedsheets of someone with monkeypox lesions.
FDA Expands Monkeypox Vaccine License to Increase Dosage Supply
Most people who get monkeypox recover without treatment, but it can cause more serious symptoms such as inflammation of the brain and, in rare cases, death. Monkeypox is endemic in Europe and North America. is less lethal than monkeypox, which is endemic in Africa, where most people become ill after contact with infected wild animals such as rodents and squirrels.