The ongoing mpox outbreak has been declared a "continental emergency," according to Roger Kamba, the health minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), who spoke on Monday.

Kamba reported that since the beginning of this year, the DRC has documented 16,700 confirmed or suspected cases of mpox, including more than 570 deaths. This marks an increase from the 15,664 suspected cases and 548 deaths reported last week.

In December 2022, the DRC declared a national outbreak of mpox, prompting the establishment of an incident management system in February 2023 due to the rising number of reported cases.

The disease, affecting 17 African countries and several others outside the continent, notably impacts younger populations, particularly children under 15. Kamba described this trend as a "novelty" in the context of the outbreak.

"But I remind you that the vaccine is only part of the response; the first line of defense is adherence to preventive measures," said the minister, specifying that the country would receive a batch of mpox vaccines next week.

The health minister also noted that the government's interventions have helped prevent a larger-scale spread within the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared last Wednesday that mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, a public health emergency of international concern, raising alarms about its potential for increased global transmission, following an initial announcement on July 23, 2022.

The WHO's declaration came after the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that the ongoing mpox outbreak constitutes a public health emergency for the continent.

According to the African Union's health agency, the number of new mpox cases reported in 2024 represents a 160-percent increase compared to the same period in 2023.

According to the WHO, the current outbreak, spreading from the DRC, has been exacerbated by the emergence of a more lethal new variant of the virus, clade 1b, which has a mortality rate estimated at 3.6 percent, significantly higher than previous strains.

Mpox vaccines

DRC hopes to receive its first doses of an mpox vaccine by next week, said Kamba on Monday.

"Their arrival would help to address a huge inequity that left African countries with no access to the two shots used in a 2022 global mpox outbreak, while the vaccines were widely available in Europe and the United States," said Kamba.

The ministry "intends to provide as much support as possible", Masano Tsuzuki, section chief of its division of infectious disease prevention and control, said.

The global vaccine group Gavi said last week it had up to $500 million to spend on getting shots to countries affected by Africa's escalating mpox outbreak. "Gavi has offered to make the vaccines available and we agreed," Kamba said.

Mpox, a viral infection that causes pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms, is usually mild but can be fatal. Two strains are spreading in DRC, the endemic form of the virus, clade 1, and the new clade 1b offshoot.

The virus transmits through close physical contact, including sexual contact, but unlike previous global pandemics such as COVID-19, there is no evidence it spreads easily through the air.

(With input from agencies)