The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (Africa CDC) Director Jean Kaseya called on the US to provide pledged support to combat mpox outbreak in Africa amid growing risks and vaccine shortages, said the statement by the Africa CDC, a public health agency of the African Union that envisions public health initiatives and the development of health institutions in member countries.
"Nearly 3 months since mpox was declared a continental emergency, 19 African countries—up from 12 in August—are grappling with a 545% rise in cases since 2023. Children remain among the hardest hit, yet vaccines are still unavailable for them. The Africa CDC Director Jean Kaseya has called for the urgent release of pledged funds to tackle this "acute phase" of the outbreak," the statement by the Africa CDC said.
The US President-elect Donald Trump will push the new administration to deliver on existing promises, the Africa CDC chief Kaseya told a briefing, referring to $500 million in support and 1 million vaccine doses to the Africa CDC to help fight the mpox outbreak in Africa, reportedly pledged by the US in September.
"If they don't do that [deliver pledged support], the mistrust that we have today in Africa will lead to a major issue between the US and the continent," the Africa CDC director stated.
According to Kaseya, however, the mpox virus is continuing to mutate, raising concerns about its spread both in Africa and globally. Specifically, the clade Ia strain, commonly found in central and west Africa, may have mutated to become more easily transmissible between humans. This suggests a potential increased risk of wider outbreaks, he pointed out.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, is a viral infectious disease transmitted to humans from infected animals that is also transmitted between people through close physical contact. Mpox has symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, enlarged lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion and blistering rash.
On August 13, the Africa CDC declared the outbreak of mpox a public health emergency and called for international aid to procure two million vaccine doses. On August 14, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also declared the mpox epidemic a public health emergency of international concern.