Mpox vaccines suitable for young children will arrive from Japan next week, a significant step in combating the outbreak that has claimed over 1,200 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this year, Bloomberg reports.
Children in the central African nation have been disproportionately affected by both mpox and a mysterious flu-like illness known as “Disease X” in a remote southwestern province. The Japanese vaccine will enable the inoculation of children from infants to age five, “control[ling] the outbreak not only for adults, but also the children,” according to Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Jean Kaseya.
DRC, a vast country with a population of over 100 million, faces significant challenges in healthcare provision due to its underdeveloped infrastructure and limited diagnostic capacity. Difficulties in obtaining mpox vaccines have compounded these challenges.
Over 65,700 cases of mpox have been reported in DRC this year, with 3,545 in the past week alone. Kaseya noted that this represents one of the highest weekly increases this year and indicates that the disease “is still moving.” In some areas, authorities have transitioned from twice-weekly to daily mpox vaccinations.
Japan has agreed to provide DRC with 3 million doses of the LC16 vaccine, along with specialized inoculation needles. A Japanese delegation is expected to arrive this weekend to train local healthcare workers in the technique, which involves scratching under layers of skin to induce an immune response.
While the LC16 vaccine was successfully used to immunize children against smallpox in the 1970s, its administration method has not been widely employed in recent vaccination campaigns.
Meanwhile, the unidentified “Disease X” outbreak has reported 147 new cases in the past week, bringing the total to over 500 since late October. Efforts to determine the underlying cause have been hindered by challenges in obtaining high-quality samples for testing.
The arrival of the mpox vaccines for young children and the ongoing investigation into “Disease X” underscore the urgent need to address the healthcare challenges facing DRC.
