Mpox vax procurement in Africa key to contain outbreak: Report

New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) Mpox vaccine procurement for at-risk populations across Africa is crucial to contain the deadly outbreak and save lives, according to a report on Friday.

The report by GlobalData, a data and analytics company, noted that while Mpox vaccines played an important role in containing the 2022 mpox outbreak in high-income nations, “none are currently widely available in Africa”.

Bavarian Nordic’s MVA-BN vaccine (Jynneos/Imvanex) — approved in the US, Europe, and Canada — is the leading mpox vaccine worldwide.

In addition, KM Biologics’ LC16 vaccine is available in Japan and Emergent BioSolutions’ ACAM2000 is also under regulatory review for mpox in the US.

Fiona Chisholm, Associate Director of Infectious Diseases at GlobalData, called for a coordinated international response to put “pressure on countries with stockpiles to donate their mpox vaccines.”

To manage the outbreak, “the Africa CDC has estimated that it will need around 10 million vaccine doses,” she said.

“As an immediate response, the European Commission announced that it will donate 175,420 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine to the Africa CDC, while Bavarian Nordic will donate 40,000 doses. Bavarian Nordic has also confirmed that it has the capabilities to produce 10 million doses of the vaccine by the end of 2025 and is waiting to receive orders”.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa CDC declared a global health emergency on mpox, after 13 countries in Africa reported an outbreak.

Mpox is a viral infection that causes symptoms such as pus-filled lesions and fever. It can be transmitted by contact with an infected person, animal, or contaminated materials.

While most people recover within a few weeks, mpox can lead to serious complications such as sepsis, pneumonia, and severe dehydration, and can be fatal. This is particularly the case for immunocompromised individuals, such as those with HIV.

Importantly, the current outbreak is majorly being driven by a novel strain of the virus known as clade Ib.

“Clade Ib appears to be more virulent than clade II, the strain that was responsible for the 2022 mpox outbreak, and children appear to be particularly susceptible to this strain,” Chisholm said.

–IANS

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