KINSHASA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- More than 14,000 people have been vaccinated against mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as part of the vaccination campaign launched in early October, the country's health ministry said on Monday.
Since the beginning of the campaign, about 14,180 people have been vaccinated in three provinces, the ministry said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
On Oct. 5, the DRC kicked off its vaccination campaign against mpox in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province. The country plans to vaccinate a total of 2.5 million people with 3,500,000 doses of vaccine, said DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba at a press conference on Oct. 4, adding that about 265,000 doses of vaccine are available.
A total of 16 countries in the African region have been affected by mpox, according to the latest report published Sunday by the World Health Organization (WHO), calling the DRC the epicenter of this epidemic with the heaviest toll.
The WHO said the DRC has reported, since the beginning of this year, 31,350 suspected cases, including 992 deaths, and 6,169 confirmed cases, including 25 deaths.
The Central African country is facing a higher mortality rate due to late diagnosis and difficult access to treatment. Only 41 percent of suspected cases have been tested in 2024, according to the WHO report.
The African continent, which has reported 36,787 suspected cases as of Oct. 6, including 998 deaths, is grappling with several clades of the virus, further complicating response efforts.
In mid-August, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security. Soon after, the WHO also declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, activating its highest level of global alert for mpox for the second time in two years.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus, which spreads through close contact. Symptoms include fever, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, muscle aches, skin rash, and back pain. ■