Mpox outbreaks in Africa can be controlled, but governments, international agencies, and other stakeholders must collaborate to ensure tests and vaccines reach affected areas, the head of the World Health Organization said on Monday.

“The mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries can be controlled and eventually stopped,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, stated in prepared remarks. “Achieving this requires a comprehensive and coordinated action plan involving international agencies, national and local partners, civil society, researchers, manufacturers, and our Member States.”

Tedros made these comments as he unveiled the WHO’s global strategic preparedness and response plan to combat human-to-human transmission of the illness. This announcement follows the recent declaration by the WHO of the current outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern.

The plan calls for $135 million in funding over the six-month period from September 2024 to February 2025. This funding will cover the costs of securing and transporting medical products and equipment and increasing staffing in affected areas. The WHO will issue a funding appeal.

“Strategic vaccination efforts will target individuals at the highest risk, including close contacts of recent cases and healthcare workers, to break transmission chains,” the agency stated.

The WHO, along with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will hold a virtual scientific conference on August 29-30 to align mpox research with outbreak control objectives.

 

The Africa CDC reported in its latest update that as of last Thursday, over 21,300 suspected or confirmed cases of mpox and 590 deaths have been recorded this year across 12 African countries, according to the Associated Press. More than 90% of these cases are in Congo. Additionally, cases have also been reported in Thailand, Sweden, and Pakistan.

Mpox is a virus in the same family as smallpox but causes milder symptoms, including fever, chills, and body aches. It primarily spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, including sexual intercourse. Severe cases can lead to lesions on the face, hands, chest, and genitals.

The global mpox outbreak in 2022, which affected over 70 countries, was controlled within months in wealthier nations thanks to vaccines and treatments. However, Africa saw limited access to these resources. The virus had been spreading largely unnoticed in Nigeria and other regions before gaining international attention. Since then, Congo has experienced a steady number of cases with minimal effective containment efforts.

Currently, there is only one approved vaccine for mpox, developed by the Danish biotech company Bavarian Nordic.

Additionally, a smallpox vaccine owned by Emergent Biosolutions Inc. may be available for use against mpox under an expanded-access protocol for investigational drugs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, this vaccine has more known side effects and contraindications.

Another biotech company, GeoVax Labs Inc., is developing an MVA vaccine for mpox that uses the modified vaccinia Ankara virus as a vector to deliver antigens to the immune system, as noted by E.F. Hutton analyst Jason Kolbert. The MVA vaccine is preferred for individuals with compromised immune systems due to the risks associated with the initial smallpox vaccine. MVA is also being stockpiled by the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile for use against both mpox and smallpox viruses.