Following Nigeria’s outcry on the number of mpox cases, the country has been the first in Africa to receive vaccine doses to curb the spread. Nigeria had confirmed 40 mpox cases this year but later on revealed that the numbers could be more than 700 cases.
The country has so far received 10,000 doses of a vaccine to combat mpox, in the midst of the current outbreak of the disease that had been initially named monkeypox. Nigeria received its vaccine doses as a donation from the US.
In early preparations to combat the disease the country began the process to secure the vaccines well before it was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) earlier this month.
Central Africa has been hit hardest by the recent rapid spread of mpox especially in DR Congo which has recorded more than 18,000 suspected cases of mpox and 615 deaths this year.
The West African nations have not recorded any deaths from the virus. It has also not recorded any cases of Clade 1b, a new variant in the east of the DR Congo that has also spread to neighbouring countries. There are still no mpox-specific vaccines, but smallpox ones work against the disease – and are being manufactured by two pharmaceutical companies.
Nigeria insists it will prioritise health workers and at-risk communities in the 13 affected states during the vaccination campaign.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 10 million doses are needed across the continent, with DR Congo being the most in need.